"I also owe this victory to Lars van der Haar" - Thibau Nys explodes into cyclocross season

Thibau Nys is now in the elite category of cyclocross and he proved himself on the first opportunity. The Baloise - Trek Lions opened the first Belgian cross of the season with great form and beat Eli Iserbyt in a very tactical race in Beringen.

“I did not see this coming, but I am incredibly happy. I also owe this victory to Lars van der Haar. It was a very difficult race to really feel comfortable, because the efforts came so close together," Nys said at the end of the race. "If it took longer, I could pull through well and I had the power in my legs to stand up. But that also made it difficult to estimate how I should approach the final. That's where the stress came to the surface.”

Nys initially resisted the attacks in the group and looked to have the legs in the final lap. “I've never been in that situation before, where I felt like I could win. So I was a bit nervous, but I had Lars with me. He rolled out the red carpet. It's unbelievable that such a champion would want to do that. I owe this victory to him. He saw that I could win and kept the pace tight," he thanks. Nys then had the legs in the final minutes of the race to match Iserbyt on the climbs and technical sections, and then exploded out of his wheel in the finishing straight to take the victory.

"It had to happen on the last climb. I was afraid to continue there, but I was confident of my sprint. This allowed me to correct my mistake. I wanted to lure them out of there. That worked and then I felt it was for me. The first cross of the season, first professional victory... Now the pressure is even greater in Waterloo," he adds. "But most of all I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the first World Championships.”