"No excuses, he just wasn't good enough" - Sven Nys' harsh assessment of son Thibau's performance in Hulst

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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