"Thibau was the only one who could follow when Mathieu really pushed": Sven Nys praises his son despite defeat in Namur

Until the Namur World Cup round past weekend, Thibau Nys was the reference point of the on-going cyclocross season. But on Sunday he countered an even greater star of the discipline - seven-time world champion Mathieu van der Poel. Despite this being his first competitive start this winter, the Dutchman didn't grant his younger rival more than a sliver of hope as he cruised towards his sixth triumph under the citadelle in Namur.

Although at no point there was really a doubt about the winner in Namur, the race was quite close between the two men. Despite few mistakes along the way, Van der Poel eventually created the difference as expected, but it wasn't until the race's apex.

"For a moment, it looked like it was going to be a battle to the finish, but Thibau has no one to blame," Thibau's father Sven Nys told WielerFlits after the two have already discussed the race internally.

"He made a small mistake in a corner. That can happen; it's part of cyclocross. But that means he has to do something that is no longer feasible in such a final. It would have been amazing if he'd just been able to follow. That's what we were hoping for."

For vast majority of the race, Thibau was the only rider able to counter Van der Poel's accelerations, escpecially uphill. "Weight plays a major role there," Sven explains that the short efforts are really his son's cup of tea.

"That's become his trademark in recent years. You see that on the road too. He really shines in dry conditions. That's why his chances are much greater here than in other cyclocross races."

Thibau was ultimately less than 10 seconds shy off the man wearing rainbow, however in his post-race comments, teammate Lars van der Haar (4th in Namur) suggested that this was Thibau's one and only chance to beat Van der Poel this winter. And there's certainly some weight to his words since it's not rare for the Dutchman to win by more than a minute. This might've been the most human-like version we will have seen this winter then.

Van der Haar and Michael Vanthourenhout were both present in the crunch-time of the race. "When Mathieu really pushed, Thibau was the only one who could follow," he assesses.

Even then, the Baloise Glowi Lions manager Sven Nys nods to the opinion that Thibau can't realistically aim to defeat Van der Poel in their upcoming clashes: "The courses coming up in the coming weeks simply suit Mathieu much better. Think of Antwerp, Koksijde, or Hofstade. They're tailor-made for Mathieu. Beating him there, in the sand... That's not Thibau's specialty anyway."

However the older of Nys tribe doesn't give up entirely as his lists some opportunities for Thibau to shine again: "If we ever want to get closer [to Mathieu], it will be in Gavere or Baal. Those are races where it's still possible, although it depends on the conditions. We're also working towards the Belgian championships in Beringen."