"No excuses, he just wasn't good enough" - Sven Nys' harsh assessment of son Thibau's performance in Hulst
Cyclocross
In the end, Niels Vandeputte proved strongest at the World Cup Hulst on Saturday afternoon. For European Champion Thibau Nys though, things didn't go to plan at all as the young Belgian disappointingly slumped to a 16th placed finish.
Thibau's father and cyclocross legend Sven Nys was working on the race for Play Sports and assessed his son's performance afterwards somewhat critically. "A bad day," Nys began. "It just wasn't good and I didn't see an excuse right away. He changed tyres three or four times and didn't really have the confidence. But there are no excuses, he just wasn't good enough. Thibau didn't crash badly. He looked tired, not flashy and that wasn't enough to go for a result."
Nevertheless, Sven Nys isn't panicked by Thibau's lesser performance. "The strange thing about Thibau is that he can suddenly be very strong again in Zonhoven. The good and bad days alternate very much," he concludes. "That is sometimes part of a young rider, but with him it fluctuates very extremely in certain situations."
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| 01 | Vandeputte Niels | - | 57:55 |
| 02 | Orts Lloret Felipe | - | + 09 |
| 03 | Ronhaar Pim | - | + 20 |
| 04 | Iserbyt Eli | - | + 36 |
| 05 | Mason Cameron | - | + 58 |
| 06 | Verstrynge Emiel | - | + 01:13 |
| 07 | Vanthourenhout Michael | - | + 01:30 |
| 08 | Aerts Toon | - | + 01:36 |
| 09 | van der Haar Lars | - | + 01:41 |
| 10 | Menut David | - | + 01:49 |
| 11 | Hendrikx Mees | - | + 01:55 |
| 12 | Van Kessel Corne | - | + 02:04 |
| 13 | Adams Jens | - | + 02:07 |
| 14 | Rouiller Loris | - | + 02:25 |
| 15 | Sweeck Laurens | - | + 02:41 |
| 16 | Nys Thibau | - | + 03:09 |
| 17 | Kamp Ryan | - | + 03:10 |
| 18 | Vandebosch Toon | - | + 03:14 |
| 19 | Strohmeyer Andrew | - | + 03:15 |
| 20 | Suarez Fernandez Kevin | - | + 03:24 |
| 21 | Boros Michael | - | + 03:35 |
| 22 | Bertolini Gioele | - | + 03:42 |
| 23 | Wyseure Joran | - | + 03:53 |
| 24 | Kuhn Kevin | - | + 04:00 |
| 25 | Funston Scott | - | + 04:06 |
| 26 | Mottiez Gilles | - | + 04:19 |
| 27 | Sommer Lars | - | + 04:45 |
| 28 | Périou Tony | - | + 05:02 |
| 29 | Venturini Clément | - | + 05:16 |
| 30 | Ananie Ugo | - | + 05:27 |
| 31 | Gilles Cyprien | - | + 05:32 |
| 32 | Reculeau Nicolas | - | + 05:47 |
| 33 | Marasco Lorenzo | - | + 05:48 |
| 34 | Konwa Marek | - | + 06:35 |
| 35 | Harter Luca | - | + 07:05 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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