“Pff… I’ve had enough for a moment”: Thibau Nys heads to World Championships frustrated after missing podium in Hoogerheide

For Thibau Nys, the World Cup round in Hoogerheide ended with a sense of unfinished business. Fourth place was the result on paper, but the frustration stemmed from how close the podium had been, and how quickly it slipped away in the closing metres.

“I don’t have much to say about it,” Nys admitted afterwards in his post-race interview. “But I’m very disappointed.”

The Belgian champion was part of a large, constantly reshuffling chase group behind an untouchable Mathieu van der Poel, whose solo ride removed any ambiguity at the front of the race.

In that secondary battle, Nys appeared well placed as the final lap began, choosing his moment to force the issue rather than wait for a sprint.

“I wanted to do it in the last lap,” Nys explained, “but then I made a mistake.” That error came just before the barriers and proved decisive. Instead of arriving alone or with a clear advantage, he was forced into an exposed sprint from the front.

“It was an awkward sprint to start from the front,” he said. “They came from behind with much more speed. In the sprint, I gave it away.”

There was no attempt to soften the verdict. When Tibor del Grosso and Niels Vandeputte both came past him on the line, Nys immediately accepted responsibility. “That’s my own fault,” he said. “Niels surprised me, but you have to sprint until the finish. He was absolutely right. There are no excuses.”

What made the outcome harder to accept was that the race itself had not felt poor. “In itself I felt quite good,” Nys said. “But it was difficult to make the difference. I didn’t have the freshest legs.”

Even so, he felt competitive within the group behind Van der Poel. “I did have the feeling that in the group behind Mathieu I might have been the strongest,” he added. “But that doesn’t buy you anything.”

That contrast defined his Hoogerheide afternoon. Present in the key moments, physically close to the best of the rest, but lacking the final sharpness required to turn position into a result. In a race where timing mattered more than raw power, the margin for error was unforgiving.

Nys did not dwell on analysis for long. His final reaction carried more emotion than explanation. “Pff… I’ve had enough for a moment,” he sighed.

With the World Championships now imminent, Hoogerheide was not a collapse, but it was a reminder. At this level, being close is never enough, and missing the podium entirely can weigh heavily when the biggest target of the winter is just days away.