Thibau Nys proves his worth and beats Wout van Aert at World Cup Benidorm

Thibau Nys has won in the sunshine at the World Cup Benidorm! Nys beat Eli Iserbyt into second, and Lars van der Haar came third, whilst Wout van Aert could only manage fourth.

At the start, it was Niels Vandeputte who made a strong getaway, whilst Wout van Aert made a slow start, having already started a long way towards the back of the pack. After 1 lap, van Aert was only in 19th place, as Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vanthourenhout were the leading duo.

By the end of the second lap, Van Aert had moved up to twelfth and was making steady progress. Flash forward to end of the fifth lap, and Van Aert was part of the leading group that also included Iserbyt, Felipe Orts, Lars van der Haar, Vanthourenhout and several others. But had Van Aert had to make too much of an effort early on?

Heading on to the second to last lap, Van der Haar and Iserbyt had managed to take 5 seconds over the rest of the chasing group after a good move. But still, that was not the winning move, as the pack came back together and then it was time for Vanthourenhout to attempt a move.

So, it came down to a last lap duel. Midway through the lap, van Aert had moved into third, just as Thibau Nys made a move for victory over the top. And there was a grimace on Van Aert's face, he was struggling!

And so it was the European and Belgain champions Thibau Nys who was the number one man on the day, as he showed he can be a threat at the world championships. Nys took the victory, as Van Aert struggled and missed out on the podium.

It's hard to believe how quickly the winter season has passed, but only two races remain in the World Cup calendar. Next weekend features an exciting double-header, with riders heading to Maasmechelen on Saturday, followed by the grand finale on Sunday in Hoogerheide.