Thibau Nys second in Zonhoven: "Take away Mathieu van der Poel and I’ll be riding the entire race alone at the front"
Cyclocross
Thibau Nys has started the 2024-2025 season quite well and used his form to win the European Championships, a very meaningful title. In the past few weeks he's struggled with consistency again but has shown his best level today at the World Cup Zonhoven. However, with Mathieu van der Poel back in the field, this could only earn him a second place.
“I mean: it’s been a few weeks and races since I had such a good feeling. I sometimes had a good feeling, but then I was unlucky. Now everything fell into place again," Nys said in a post-race interview. "I’m very happy with that. Even if it had been for a fourth or fifth place, I’m just happy that I could do my thing again.”
In the technical and explosive circuit, marked by it's downhill and steep uphill sand sections of the 'Kuil', Nys and teammate Pim Ronhaar went clear of the chasing group to van der Poel in the first few laps. Whilst Ronhaar then struggled, Nys built a solid gap over the rest of the field.
“I immediately felt that this was a track where I could warm up my engine and convert it into speed. That was missing yesterday," he explains. "I have the feeling that I’m missing the cross-specific feeling. That’s of course quite important as a crosser, haha. But today I was able to bring the speed back onto the course".
In the end he faded slightly and was almost caught by Joran Wyseure, but hung on to a second place that marks his return to the front of the big cross races. A motivating sign ahead of some very important weeks this winter. "That results in a great day. Take away Mathieu van der Poel and I’ll be riding the entire race alone at the front," he concluded.
Men Elite 🏆 in Zonhoven:
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) December 22, 2024
🥇 Mathieu van der Poel 🇳🇱
🥈 Thibau Nys 🇧🇪 +1:30
🥉 Joran Wyseure 🇧🇪 +1:33 #CXWorldCup #FLCS pic.twitter.com/r0bte1iZro
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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