Years after retirement, Zdenek Stybar would still like to train with Mathieu van der Poel: "Of course, I wouldn't be able to do that uphill"

A generation before the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, Zdenek Stybar ruled cyclocross and also had a stupendous transition to the road where he was one of the very best in the cobbled classics. Retired in 2023, he no longer follows a training program such as what he did when he raced, but he continues to follow the sport and its stars very closely.

Stybar turned pro in 2006 and throughout many years was one of Sven Nys' biggest rivals. In the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons however, he still go to race in the same field as Thibau Nys in the latter years of his career. For Stybar, who lived in Belgium in his days as a pro and lived the country's sports culture, this had a special meaning.

"I really enjoy seeing Thibau like that. I've known him since he was two. He was already doing descents early on, and then we thought: oh, that's not going to work out," Stybar said in words to In de Leiderstrui. Nys junior now races at the top of the discipline, having become European Champion last year in Pontevedra; and currently leading the World Cup after winning the first two rounds in Tabor - in Stybar's home country of the Czech Republic - and also Flamanville.

Stybar enjoys following the Belgian rider, whom he knows already for two decades. With the quality of the results that follow, it's possible that one day he will be able to replicate the results of Sven Nys. "It's also just really fun to follow his career, both in cyclocross and on the road. It's also great that he can share that with his dad. That's a dream, so it's really fun to follow."

Stybar raced for many years in the Quick-Step, having spent the prime of his career from 2011 to 2022 in there. He's won races such as Strade Bianche, Omloop het Nieuwsblad, E3 Saxo Classic, Renewi Tour as well as stages in races such as the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. He's raced against riders such as Peter Sagan, Philippe Gilbert, and in his late years the likes of Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel both in the field and on the cobbles of Belgium and France.

He admits that he would still like to go out with the Dutchman, with whom he mostly raced on the road, as he switched away from cross significantly after the 2013-2014 season, right before the rise of the two generational rivals. "I could still go for a ride with Mathieu. Of course, I wouldn't be able to do that uphill, but I could still ride 100, 150 kilometers with him. I wouldn't be afraid of that. I'd be completely exhausted afterward, but I could definitely still ride with him".