Sven Nys impressed by his son Thibaut Nys capacity so far: "I see him doing things I couldn't do at that age"

Belgian cyclocross national coach Sven Nys talked about the World Cup event in Benidorm, the riot between Michael Vanthourenhout and Laurens Sweeck and the future of his own son and cyclocross rider who will be racing in Trek-Segafredo it this year's road race season Thibaut Nys.

“The course in Benidorm is fast and explosive. It will be a spectacle, a battle to the finish, and that's what people want to see. I think Laurens Sweeck will not give away the overall victory in the World Cup there. In Benidorm it's fast, lots of turns and spins. He is not going to lose many places there against Michael Vanthourenhout.”, commented Nys in a interview on Velofollies cycling fair.

The Benidorm cyclocross event will be the first World Cup event to happen in Spain. And organizers already announced that more than 15000 tickets were sold and that the race is sold-out. “I've never experienced it before. Of course that includes many Belgians, but I also expect many Spaniards to come and watch Van Aert, Van der Poel and Pidcock.”, commented Nys about that.

“I expect a lot from the World Cup. I hope Mathieu van der Poel is 100%, so we get a race at the cutting edge. At the moment, you would say Wout van Aert has an edge, but those guys can turn the knob so quickly. Again, it will depend on detail.”, finished Nys about the other World Cup events that are still to happen.

But things aren't perfect and there have being problems between Michael Vanthourenhout and Laurens Sweeck both of them Belgian and both of them selectable for the Belgian National Team in Cyclocross. Will this issue affect the Belgian team, in particular their main star Wout Van Aert? National Coach Sven Nys doesn't give it much importance.

"In any case, Wout won't lose any sleep over it. Journalists are going to enjoy playing it out a few more times. I think it's important to create calm. It does automatically settle down a bit more because everyone is focusing on the next goal. But that there is tension, is clear.”, he stated.

One rider that, despite his young age, is already shinning is his own sun Thibaut Nys. He is having an interesting Cyclocross season, finishing most recently 3rd on the Belgian Elite Championships ahead of names like FORMER World Cup champion Eli Iserbyt.

"I see him doing things I couldn't do at that age. For example, he has qualities on the road that I didn't have. With me, it was more work and showing character, he is more explosive. I notice that he comes into his own in the tough cross. I still see him progressing every year. As a road rider, he now enters a big pool at Trek-Segafredo, where he will ride the Tour de Romandie and races like Nokere Koerse.”, said Nys about his son who is also signed for Trek-Segafredo and has a good potential in road races.

20-year-old Thibau Nys will turn up in the u23s World Championship and for now the Elite one is still a bit far. When asked dad Nys, what he would prefer for his son, winning a semi-classic on the road or becoming cyclocross world champion? The ex rider was frontal.

"I think he needs to win the World Championship first before he can win a semi-classic. "Anyway, I think we haven't seen the best of Thibau in cross yet. And that has not done corona any good for this generation.", he answered.

Sven Nys is n o stranger to conflicts with Michael Vanthourenhout, A non-selection for the World Cup was once at the root of an acrimony between them. But with the years pass the relationship between them cooled and now they are good friends. On Sunday, they sat brotherly next to each other again in the studio.

"We have no more contact outside the cross-country. We only send messages about Thibau's selection or an internship. I used to sleep with Sven more than with my own wife, so to speak. We chose our own path now and I have made peace with that. When we're together in the studio, it's okay. There is definitely no animosity. Sometimes life turns differently than you expect.", commented Vanthourenhout about it.