Despite the brilliance of his European Championship victory and his clear improvement, Albert isn't ready to put Nys on a level with the likes of cyclocross superstars
Mathieu van der Poel and
Wout van Aert just yet. "Does this herald a new phase in his development as a cyclo-cross rider? I wouldn't dare push it that far. Okay, he wins a championship. But it wasn't a huge surprise. His biggest progress came last summer with that series of nine victories on the road, more than half of which in the World Tour," Albert explains.
“Crossing a new threshold in cyclocross would mean: riding to the finish tomorrow with Wout van Aert and/or Mathieu van der Poel and beating him/them in the sprint” continues the Belgian. “We are not going to place him at that level. Again: not yet. Because turn it or twist it however you want: at a certain point it will go in that direction. I am not talking about equalling, let alone surpassing. But certainly 'leaning close to'.”
"If Mathieu and Wout appear somewhere at the start now and one of them wins, we say: 'Well, who else?' With his big engine and technical and tactical capabilities, I can see us doing the same with Thibau sooner or later," Albert concludes. "It's simple: the power and the power that he develops on the road also make him grow further in the field. None of the assembled competition could dream of that for even a second."