Thibau Nys set to return to action at World Cup Hoogerheide: "He is already feeling better and will definitely start tomorrow"

European and Belgian cyclocross champion Thibau Nys was absent from the World Cup Maasmechelen, where Mathieu van der Poel claimed a dominant victory. However, according to his team manager Eric Braes, Nys is expected to return to action tomorrow at the World Cup Hoogerheide.

"Thibau had a good training at the beginning of the week, but the next day he woke up with a sore throat, probably due to cold symptoms. His general condition was not optimal, so we decided to give him a few days of rest to recover. He is already feeling better and will definitely start tomorrow and be able to participate, but for today we opted for certainty and gave him an extra day of rest. I think this will do him good," Braes told Wielerflits.

Braes explained that a dip in form was not entirely unexpected following Nys’s demanding race schedule. "We had already expected that there might be a moment after the Belgian Championship when he would relapse. It has now happened, after that wonderful victory in Benidorm. But it is indeed a thin line that cyclo-cross riders now live on, especially with the pressure of championships and the full program. One gets a little sick, the other just manages to stay upright. It is really a tightrope that they balance on."

Fortunately, Nys’s condition does not appear to be serious. “He did not have a fever or anything serious. It is more a matter of recovering from the efforts and all the commotion that came with it. After a few days of feeling a bit less, that will definitely be fine. I do not think he will lose out on this. Maybe the rest will even do him extra good.”

Braes remains confident that Nys’s ambitions for the World Championships are unaffected. “His motivation or goals for the World Championships will not change because of this. He wants to be good there, and I expect him to be really good."