“Look at what he already has to his name” - Thibau Nys’s coach explains the Belgian’s European Championship victory

Thibau Nys has kicked off his cyclocross season with an impressive performance, claiming the European Cyclocross Championship title over the weekend. The 21-year-old, who rides for Lidl-Trek on the road and represents Baloise-Trek Lions in cyclocross, continues to build his reputation as a rising star in the sport. Nys is the son of legendary cyclo-cross rider Sven Nys, whose legacy as one of the sport's greatest champions is well known.

Following Thibau's victory, his coach, Paul Van den Bosch, shared insights with Wielerflits into the challenges faced in the lead-up to the championship. “The past few weeks have not been easy,” Van den Bosch admitted, noting that Nys had battled illness after finishing his road season. “On the one hand, we had to work on the basics, but on the other hand, the cross season was already here. We had to weigh up the pros and cons between working on the basics and specifically working on the cross season.

"Our opinions differed a bit on that. In the sense that I was more in favour of cross-oriented training, while he preferred to continue working on the basics. We mainly opted for the vision that he supported the most, which is not illogical because the athlete has to feel good about it.”

Van den Bosch also highlighted how maintaining balance was key to Nys' preparation. “Searching for freshness was important, because he clearly lacked that. The day before Ruddervoorde he had trained for more than four hours, and the day before he even completed an endurance training at 37 kilometres per hour. Then you know that you cannot perform properly, that was taken into account. But when you saw that it really was not good, unrest started to arise. That is when we pulled the emergency brake and decided not to go to Spain. He stayed off the bike for a day in the week before Overijse. Then the two visions come together: on the one hand we worked hard on the basics. Combine that with freshness, and you get a very good Thibau.”

The young Belgian's victory underscored his potential and resilience. “It was wonderful to see what he did, it turned out the way he had in mind. He has yet to turn 22 this month, but if you look at what he already has to his name. The U23 World Championship in the field, the U23 European Championship on the road, the European Championship in the field for professionals. Not to mention his exceptional summer on the road," Van den Bosch noted.

Looking ahead, the coach outlined plans for Nys' 2025 road season. “The plan or idea is to play him out in the Ardennes classics now. First of all, we are thinking of the Amstel Gold Race and the Walloon Arrow. After the World Championships, he will have little or no time to rest. That championship will not take place until early February and a good two months later he must already be at top level on the road. That is an additional factor to keep that basis in mind constantly throughout the cross winter, so that you can quickly move on to the specific training for the classics afterwards.”

Van den Bosch emphasized how demanding Nys’ schedule is compared to his peers. “What he does is very complex,” he explained. “Nobody does it that way. Just look back at the results of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert when they were 21 or 22. They still rode a full cyclo-cross winter, combined with a very limited road season. That was a maximum of 15 races, like the Tour of Belgium and Dwars door het Hageland. While Thibau now has 36 racing days, and if the Tour of Wallonia had not been cancelled, it would have been more than 40. At WorldTour level, with many tough stage races. Those are things that no one else has done yet.”