Thibau Nys reacts to superb win at GP Miguel Indurain ahead of Ardennes debut: “I dreamed about this last night"
Cycling
Thibau Nys made a spectacular start to his 2025 road campaign, winning the GP Miguel Indurain with a devastating late attack reminiscent of the explosivity of the likes of Remco Evenepoel. After a brilliant winter that saw him take bronze at the Cyclocross World Championships, the Lidl–Trek rider waited until today to make his first road appearance of the season, and delivered in style.
“I dreamed about this last night,” Nys laughed in his post-race flash interview. “I knew I was in good shape, and that the race would suit me, with that last wall. I think that climb really suited me, but you never know how the body reacts to the first race. But when the final opened, I felt that my legs were very good. I knew that a good final was in it, but you never know what the competition will be like. But we went up the final climb, then I knew I was going to win.”
Nys was full of praise for the team’s execution, singling out Bauke Mollema’s presence in the front group as a key factor in allowing him to save energy for the finale.
“I think we did it perfectly. We were in the right position at the right time, I stayed calm and just stayed out of the wind in the beginning. In the final it went fantastic, with Bauke in the leading group so we didn't have to do anything. On the last climb it was full throttle, and I could do my thing. I knew that if you reach the top with a five-second lead, you win the race.”
The win wasn’t a surprise to Nys, who had seen all the right signs in training.
“I knew I had done what I had to do in the preparation: I checked all the boxes and received many positive signals. I really feel like I have made a step, and if I then arrive at these kinds of finishes with good legs, I knew I could be close. Then it is a matter of waiting to see how the legs and the body react, but it turned out to be positive.”
The 22-year-old is set to make his debut in the Ardennes Classics later this month, and Saturday’s performance has already elevated him into the conversation among the favourites.
“It means a lot. It means that I'm on the right track, although I think I can still find a few more percentage points in the Tour of the Basque Country to be really super for the Ardennes classics. But I'm very happy with where I am. It's nice to win right away, that gives a boost to my self-confidence.”
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- Impressive and surprising, well done. Go for it more often please.Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Good choice of profile picture by the way :-)Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Bolt was an outlier, for some people it can’t exist. Funny thing is 3 generations later, a lot of amateurs reach the level the average pro had. Ok, maybe counting from today it might be 5 or 6 generations because we won’t all have access to the equipment and staff and assistance pros now need to perform.Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Actually, I’ve not noticed that fans have even noticed results are provisional so as far as the sport itself goes, I wouldn’t worry too much. Obviously some riders will miss out on celebrating but then these days, they’re all paid so well that it’s quite a small price to pay. Andy Schleck certainly didn’t get to party like he was used to when he received Alberto’s trophy and titles, nevertheless, he’s in the books and I’m sure he feels like and gets treated like a tdf winner. CATCHING dopers is good for the sport, though at the moment I’d have no idea who to go looking for.Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Someone like David Walsh, who was the point person in the Sky Team coverup? When there was money and fame in bringing down Armstrong, he went for that. Then he sold that crusader image to Sky. And then renounced them. The guy has made more money from athletes and doping without ever once competing himself, having to take drugs, or even stand for a single principle. He is no different than Novitzsky, who was pivotal in the Armstrong investigations, and helped put Marion Jones in jail. Now he is full-time in the coverup business for the UFC.
Barney10-04-2025 - Do you think that making results provisional for 10 years makes for good sport? Or in any way remotely fairer, or safer?Barney10-04-2025
- Christian Scaroni, Clément Champoussin, Harold Tejada, Simone Velasco ... Peripheral riders who have failed to make much impression so far in their carrier, suddenly starting to win everywhere, climbing with the best in weekly WT races. Aging riders years after their prime, now seen more often than none at the head of the peloton in the classics. Still, no what is talking about the Chinese candies in the roomBM10-04-2025
- It's easy to dismiss doubters. We need someone like David Walsh who dares to ask the hard question. In the mean time, I wouldn't worry too much about Tadej. Whether he dopes or not, at least, he's not a terrible person like LA Doper.
KerisVroom10-04-2025 - Pogi is an outlier. You cannot prove an outlier using the statistical data of average pros. If he releases the data, it will only cause even more suspicion. In 2020 TDF he was dropped by Roglic in the mountains. So how does he do the TT where in the flats he nearly beat Tom Dumoulin and beat everybody else on the climb by a ton. No matter what Pogi is too much of an outlier which can be proven by dataabstractengineer10-04-2025
- Sorry? Have you not noticed how many winners and others have been cancelled post event, not least from the Beijing and London Olympics? If that doesn’t qualify for practice generalisation in sporting procedure, what is, we’ve even gotten to the stage of pre-emptive barring under suspicion of possible doping. If you’re going to look at a problem like this seriously, don’t just look at what makes media headlines in the parts you pay attention to. There is probably a wiki list (very long) of athletes who were disqualified for substance irregularities post event, and each had the opportunity to their long and costly process to defend themselves, it just doesn’t make the news unless you’re already a megastar (in which case you’d be extremely stupid nowadays to risk it, but then again, many people, especially in sport, fall in or close to such a category.Mistermaumau10-04-2025