“I panicked and the cold hit my breathing” – Thibau Nys survives crash and chaos to save Belgian crown

Thibau Nys kept hold of the Belgian national cyclocross jersey in Beringen, but the way he defended it was far more dramatic than it had looked for much of the race.

After building control on the climbs and riding much of the race alone at the front, Nys crashed on a fast descent and then had to survive a fierce late chase from Emiel Verstrynge. In the final lap, the defending champion was even forced to stop briefly on a steep running section before holding on to win for the second year in a row.

Speaking afterwards, Nys admitted the closing phase shook him more than he had expected.

“I panicked for a moment and the cold hit my breathing,” the Belgian said in conversation with Sporza, referring to the moment where he appeared to stall on the steep running section. “That is where I panicked for a moment and the cold hit my breathing. Really, I ran into myself there so hard. I was parked for a moment.”

For a long time, Nys looked to have the race under control. He made the difference on the mine terril climbs and gradually dropped his rivals, first Michael Vanthourenhout and then the rest of the field. Even after his crash on the descent, he remounted quickly and still held a narrow but workable lead.

But as the final laps approached, Emiel Verstrynge began to close fast. “I lost it a bit and ran into myself painfully hard on that last climb,” Nys said. “I really did not see that coming.”

He admitted that the plan had been to ride in a way that always left him something in reserve. “I always tried to ride at a pace where I felt I would still have another gear if the others came back,” he explained. “But I did not get much room, and after my crash and bike change I lost some of the margin. Even so I still felt I had an explosion in me.”

That confidence was tested as Verstrynge surged closer and closer in the final lap.

With the gap shrinking and the course becoming increasingly treacherous, Nys said he changed his mindset from attacking to simply getting to the finish without throwing the race away. “I just tried not to do anything crazy on technique, so that I could make the difference with condition,” he said. “It was about riding as safely as possible to the finish. Emiel came right onto my wheel, but it was so treacherous and I did not want to take risks. Because of that I lost seconds in every corner.”

Even so, he never lost belief that he still had one final effort left. “That was the safest way to bring the title home, because I knew I had enough power for a final surge,” he said.

In the end, Verstrynge came almost onto his wheel in the finishing straight, but the line arrived just in time for Nys. Reflecting on the spectacle the race had become, Nys smiled. “That was for me too,” he said.

For Nys, the Belgian jersey clearly means more than just another result. “I am really attached to this jersey and hope to wear it for a long time,” he said.

After a race that swung from control to chaos and back again, the Belgian champion admitted it had taken far more effort than he ever expected.