Proud Dad Sven Nys reacts to Thibau's World Championship bronze: " Next to those two men, that's a dream"

Mathieu van der Poel secured his record-equalling seventh cyclocross world title yesterday, defeating Wout van Aert by a significant margin.

The third place on the podium was claimed by Thibau Nys, who capped off a brilliant season in which he won both the European and Belgian titles, now adding his first senior world championship medal to his achievements.

His father, Sven Nys, a two-time cyclocross world champion, shared his thoughts with Wielerflits after watching his son secure bronze.

“There were a lot of candidates for third place,” Nys said. “I rated Joris Nieuwenhuis the highest for that place. Then Michael Vanthourenhout. But when you see how Thibau pulls it towards him in the last lap, that was really impressive. I think he had a really good day. The course suited him, but if it had been a bit drier, it would have suited him even better. But hey, those are the circumstances. If you can end the season like that, next to those two men, that's a dream.”

Thibau had faced illness in the two weeks leading up to the championships, adding another challenge to his campaign.

“Everything has to be perfect for an athlete and that was no longer the case in the last two weeks. On Monday there was still a real crisis meeting. But on Tuesday he turned the switch: he started training and did what he had to do. This is the result.”

Sven Nys also highlighted Thibau's ability to handle the pressure of such a high pressure event.

“He can also deal with the circumstances, with the pressure. You can't forget that he is fighting for the podium here with Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, while there are 25,000 people along the course. He is a young guy, 22. We can't just start taking this for granted.”

This marks the end of a breakout cyclocross campaign for Thibau, and now his attention will turn to establishing himself on the road.