Thibau Nys angry with Hoogerheide errors but eager for Tabor worlds: "I have a shot at silver in the World Championships"

Thibau Nys was the rider who was the closest to matching Mathieu van der Poel in Hoogerheide, but lost his place on the podium following a crash on the final lap. In new statements released, the Belgian tells of how he was very disappointed with himself for missing out on the result, but that his performance motivated him towards the big goal at the World Championships.

"If I had been a bit closer, I might have been able to respond to that one attack from Van der Poel. Even then, I wouldn't have won, but at least I would have made the podium," Nys shared in statements to Het Laatste Nieuws. "This is one of the biggest disappointments of my season. I am very angry with myself for missing the podium." The Belgian was the only one at the time to react successfully to the World Champion on lap 6, and the closest rival on lap 8 of 9.

Nys entered the final lap only a few seconds behind van der Poel but then took a slight fall, losing momentum and being caught by the chasing group. Eventually he was beaten by teammate Pim Ronhaar to finish in fourth spot. Nys seems to be back at the level he had in the first races of the year, and has put himself as a very strong contender for a podium at the Worlds this weekend in the Czech Republic.

"It looked really good for a long time. Yet, I still lost it due to my own fault. The feeling in my legs doesn't lie, I was really very strong. Physically, it was the best race of my season. But the difference between a podium finish and this is huge," he tells. "I felt like I was the second-best in the race. With today's legs, I have a shot at silver in the World Championships, but not with the form I had two weeks ago. I just hope to continue this trend and finish my season on a high note."