27/10/2024

Terrific Thibau Nys overcomes Eli Iserbyt in Superprestige Overijse thriller

After a thrilling edition of Superprestige Overijse this Sunday afternoon in Belgium, Baloise - Trek Lions' Thibau Nys has prevailed ahead of compatriot Eli Iserbyt, with Lars van der Haar completing the podium.

Thibau Nys was blistering over the first lap, racing into an early advantage over the field. By the end of lap two though, the young Belgian had been dragged back by the chase as things bunched at the front. As Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vanthourenhout began to put the pressure on up front, Nys then had a disaster moment, unclipping, dropping his chain and losing about 10 positions as a result. On lap 4, Vanthourenhout then moved clear solo and as Iserbyt refused to chase his teammate, the European champion began build a sizeable advantage.

"After last year you can no longer say that Pidcock is still part of the 'Big 3'" - Experts analyse winter prospects of cyclocross' biggest stars

Having worked his way back through the field though, Nys was leading the chase of Vanthourenhout, and on lap 5, the Baloise - Trek Lions star successfully dragged the chasers back into contact. After a short stalemate, it was then Iserbyt's time to make a move at the start of lap 6. Although the Belgian national champion blasted clear of nearly all his rivals, Nys was glued to his compatriot's back wheel.

Although that duo threatened to ride away, by the time the penultimate lap began, Niels Vandeputte had forced his way back into contention. Sensing things might be getting back together, Nys then fired another brutal acceleration, re-forging the gap to Vandeputte and putting Iserbyt into real difficulty.

As the riders took the bell for the last lap, Iserbyt had recovered from the Nys assault to actually get himself back into the lead, with Vandeputte and even Lars van der Haar still not completely out of the running either. Nys though, put everything into one last attack through the uphill section, gaining a small gap but not completely dropping Iserbyt. Finally though as the young Belgian continued to relentlessly put the power down, Iserbyt's head began to shake and the gap grew out to a race winning margin for Nys.