Results World Cup Flamanville | Thibau Nys completes epic comeback after Joris Nieuwenhuis’ strong early ride unravelled with late mistake
Cyclocross
Thibau Nys claimed his latest major victory with a composed and forceful performance in Flamanville, attacking decisively when Joris Nieuwenhuis suffered a costly mechanical and riding the final quarter of an hour alone. The result completed a one-two for the Baloise Glowi Lions, with Lars van der Haar taking second place ahead of an excellent ride from Cameron Mason.
How the race was decided
The contest opened chaotically. Nieuwenhuis remained motionless when the gun fired but produced a remarkable recovery to slice through the field and seize the early lead by the end of the first lap. Early accelerations from Nys, Nieuwenhuis, Van der Haar and Nils Vandeputte shaped the opening phase, before a fast-closing Mason added a fifth name to the list of potential winners.
The race fractured and re-formed across the middle laps. Van der Haar launched a brief solo, Nys and Nieuwenhuis traded pressure, and Vandeputte began to lose contact under the sustained pace. Mason, riding one of the strongest mid-race sections, clawed his way into the front group, briefly forming a quartet that dictated the action.
The defining moment arrived on lap seven. Just as Nieuwenhuis looked set to force another selection, a chain drop halted his momentum. Nys immediately sensed the opportunity and attacked with full commitment, creating daylight that neither Mason nor Van der Haar could close.
Late scare, early celebration
Nys briefly slipped on an uphill corner on the penultimate lap, reducing his advantage to around ten seconds, but he quickly reset, relaunched, and re-established control. Mason, still carrying the effort of his earlier chase, faded slightly, allowing Van der Haar to move into second in a textbook team-tactical finish.
Behind them, Nieuwenhuis, Vandeputte and Laurens Sweeck fought for the remaining top-five positions after the earlier reshuffle.
Nys’ triumph in Flamanville extended his perfect run of form, marking his third consecutive weekend victory after wins in Hamme and Tabor. Van der Haar completed the team’s celebration with second place, while Mason confirmed another major step forward with a well-earned podium.
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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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- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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