"Just pure strength... it has little to do with skill": Thibau Nys will have to learn from Van der Poel to embrace sand

The 2025/26 winter is once again fully controlled by Mathieu van der Poel, who's yet to be defeated in the field. After the injury of Wout Van Aert, only man seems close enough to at least challenge the seven-time cyclocross world champion - Thibau Nys. But the young Belgian seems to miss a bit of luck in decisive moments, or perhaps experience. And then there is his persistent sand dilemma...

At this point, everyone has taken notice that once there are sand pitfalls in a race, the Belgian champion immediately drops down to mediocrity as the specific obstacle doesn't seem to strike the string with him. Does his father Sven Nys, himself a two-time world champion, have any tips or tricks to share with his son? Or do the two evade the topic altogether?

"We talk about it every day," Nys laughs at the In de Waaier podcast. "Be careful, when I was younger, I struggled quite a bit with it too. I had to learn that when everything came together: balance, strength, stamina... You also ride poorly in the sand if you're pushing the limit on a stretch of sand at the limit. If you have just that little bit of extra power, you can pull yourself through a bit more easily."

Rather than brute-forcing himself through the obstacle, Sven grew accustomed to it over time. "I learned to embrace it because everything became complete as an athlete. That moment is definitely not there yet with Thibau, though he's already improving a bit. But he'll have to rely on gaining experience and becoming stronger."

Although the cyclocross superstar Mathieu van der Poel is not a dominant rider in sand either, his overall quality is enough to not allow for it to be his weakness at all. That's the level Thibau aspires to once have as well.

"When you see Mathieu van der Poel cut a line in a spot where it's actually impossible: that's just pure strength, it has little to do with skill," explains the Baloise Verzekeringen - Het Poetsbureau Lions manager. "He just rides right through it because he's so incredibly strong. Thibau doesn't have that yet."

But it's not just physical strength that Nys needs to improve on. "It's the combination of the physical and mental. If things go wrong a few times, you know you're going to go in with doubts. We also often know that when you think, 'Oh, I'm going to fall down here,' that's what happens. That's what's going on in his head sometimes, and it needs to come out."

The World Championship in Hulst is already within sight, but unfortunately for Nys, that's another of the "sand-heavy" races, slightly shrinking his chances. But he's still the one man Belgian fans look up to in order to beat Mathieu van der Poel and end his reign.

How does Sven see his son's chances? "When Mathieu is at his best, the chance is almost nonexistent. We've seen a few times where he can come close, like in Namur. But Hulst isn't that tough."

Don't expect the young Belgian to pull off an upset at the World Championships. "Maybe it's still a bit too early. Maybe he should aim for a podium finish. That should, and should, be his ambition. But beating Mathieu means we have to stay level-headed and not get into too deep a hole."