"It was his best chance": Mathieu van der Poel’s father rubs salt in Thibau Nys' wound

This past Sunday, Thibau Nys slipped into the background of the 2025/26 cyclocross season. Until then, he had been, without question, the discipline’s standout star. But his string of wins vanished in an instant with the return of Mathieu van der Poel, who beat him in his first race of the campaign at the UCI World Cup in Namur.

Most analysts agree that Sven Nys’s son has run out of bullets, at least in races where he lines up against the seven-time world champion. But Mathieu’s father, Adrie van der Poel, twisted the knife further after that latest defeat. He did so with a blunt assessment in comments to In de Leiderstrui: "It was his best chance."

His best chance to beat Mathieu van der Poel, that is. The reason? He is unlikely to face a more "out-of-race-shape" version of the Dutchman than the one he met in Namur.

"I’m also thinking about the next races; this is the one that suits Thibau Nys best. Short, explosive, and technical. Mathieu can do that too, but he’ll need about five races [to get the hang of things again]," Adrie van der Poel explained.

Beyond his remarks about Thibau Nys, Adrie focused mainly on the level shown by his son on his cyclocross return: "I think it was a calculated win. I also think his physical condition is good, but he doesn’t have that cyclocross feel yet. You just get carried along by riders who’ve been racing for a while. It’s not the easiest race to start with, so I think he can be very satisfied."

"His best lap was also the final lap, when he was leading, of course. Then you only have to account for one person, and that person is yourself. Look, if you’re fourth, you already have three chances that someone crashes. For example, on the banked descent," he concluded.

In reality, the races Mathieu van der Poel is riding now and in the coming weeks are all preparation for his big (and only) target: the 2026 Worlds in Hulst. If he wins, the Dutchman will surpass Erik De Vlaeminck as the rider with the most world titles in history (they currently share the throne with seven apiece).