"He's the only rider who can put Van der Poel under pressure": Niels Albert backs Thibau Nys against cyclocross giant
Cyclocross
Thibau Nys can be "hot and cold" rider at times, but at the opening World Cup round in Tabor, he silenced any haters with a dominant victory. The Belgian has taken off in the opening lap and would never get caught again. In a sense, the Belgian champion's solo reminded us of Mathieu van der Poel's overwhelming power from past seasons. Unlike Nys, the Dutchman isn't as fully committed to cyclocross anymore, but should still join the mud fray around Christmas.
The seven-time world champion's arrival is each winter looked forward to as a breaking point of the season. With the Alpecin-Deceuninck star's appearance, the stakes are guaranteed to become even higher, and the purer cyclocross specialists sometimes look like amateurs next to the man who can already be considered a legend of the sport.
In 2025/26, it's not yet known which race will Van der Poel choose for his debut, but it's been indicated by his boss Christoph Roodhooft that the time should come around the Christmas. The official communication is expected to arrive this Friday, on November 28th. Regarding another cyclocross star Wout Van Aert, not much is known about his winter plans at the moment.
It would be more than a pleasant surprise if anyone came close to beating the Dutchman, but former cyclocross world champion Niels Albert believes one man has who it takes to challenge Van der Poel to a fair duel - Thibau Nys.
"Cyclocross rider Thibau Nys has never been so strong and dominant in the elite ranks. He's fulfilling my expectations, because this is what I really wanted to see from him this season," Albert told Het Laatste Nieuws after Nys's victory in Tabor.
In fact, Albert expects Nys to make things difficult for Van der Poel and Van Aert when they return to cyclocross. "At this high level, Nys might well be able to offer Van der Poel and/or Van Aert some stiffer resistance when they make their (re)entry into cyclocross. Thibau is currently one of the only cyclocross riders whose flashes of class could hurt the 'Big Two' and put them under pressure."
Albert has an idea of which races the 'Big Two' will return to. "Antwerp and/or Koksijde, the double World Cup assignment on the weekend of December 20th and 21st with two courses they like, seems more likely to me. Mathieu will be eager to become the sole record holder for world titles," Albert predicts Van der Poel's goal.
What we know for certain is that the 30-year-old will arrive perfectly prepared. During the off-season, we have seen him run a lot on the sunny coast of Spain, among others alongside the new triathlon world champion Greg Van Avermaet.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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