“When Emiel Verstrynge plays dirty, Thibau Nys is in trouble” – Former CX world champion on dramatic moment the Belgian title nearly flipped
Cyclocross
One moment at the Belgian Championships in Beringen almost rewrote the whole story. Thibau Nys looked in control, the race seemed settled, and even those watching from the VIP area believed the title was decided. Then came the mistake.
Bart Wellens, writing in his Crossprofessor column for Het Nieuwsblad, said the turning point arrived exactly when nobody expected it.
“Thibau Nys was actually too strong for the competition, but once again he makes that one mistake, again where nobody expects it, which allowed Emiel Verstrynge to get back into the race. I was in the VIP with, among others, Klaas Vantornout, and we had only just said that the race was definitely decided when he made the mistake.”
Nys later spoke about handling the finale cleverly, but Wellens was not convinced by that framing. “Thibau can then say that he handled the final lap cleverly, but that is talk after the event.”
The moment it nearly turned
The real flashpoint came in a section where riding and running briefly overlapped. It was there, Wellens felt, that the title could have changed hands.
“When Emiel plays the bastard, Thibau is done for. It happened almost right in front of my eyes. Emiel runs where Thibau tried to ride. Emiel looked like he was coming past, but then he holds back. If he uses his shoulder, then Thibau has no clear line.”
In the end, nothing dramatic happened. Nys stayed upright, held his line, and took the title. Even Wellens, after all the tension, accepted the outcome. “But anyway, Thibau was maybe the deserved winner. He is only 23 years old and this is already his second Belgian title.”
What this title could mean for Nys
Wellens also looked further ahead, seeing the win as both a milestone and a question mark. “Whether this is the start of a series will also depend on what he does in the summer. He claims that he will always remain a cyclocrosser, but Thibau too will be forced to make choices.”
For Wellens, the Belgian title was not just about what happened in Beringen, but about what comes next: how Nys balances summer ambitions, road racing, and the long-term shape of his cyclocross career.
Wellens baffled by Verstrynge season call
If Nys left Beringen with another title, Verstrynge left with something else: the end of his season.
The Belgian Championships was his final race of the winter, a decision that left Wellens openly confused. “Someone who has already made a choice is Emiel Verstrynge. The Belgian Championships in Beringen was his last race of the season. I don’t understand that decision. Emiel is letting a chance of a World Championship medal slip away.”
Verstrynge explained his choice by pointing to how early he began his campaign. Wellens was not persuaded. “He claims it is because he started his season early, unlike Mathieu. Then just start your season two weeks later. And even then. If it turned out his tank was empty, I would understand it. But you can see him getting better and better, cross after cross.”
Bart Wellens has questioned Verstrynge's choice to end his season after the Belgian national championships
“You never skip a World Championship”
In Wellens’ eyes, there were obvious ways to manage fatigue without walking away completely. “He could easily have gone to Spain, trained for two weeks, skipped Benidorm and then still done Maasmechelen or Hoogerheide to stay in the rhythm.”
Even with Mathieu van der Poel likely to dominate the World Championships, Wellens felt the opportunity was still too big to ignore. “Okay, with Mathieu van der Poel on the start line the winner might already be known, but there is nothing wrong with standing on a World Championship podium next to Mathieu.”
And for a rider still early in his career, he sees this as a door that might not reopen. “Emiel is still young, but this is a chance he will not get back. And just like last year, Strade Bianche will be his first race of the road season. And that year he did ride the Worlds. In my eyes, you never skip a World Championship.”
Watching from the VIP area, Wellens saw a race decided by tiny margins and even smaller decisions. In Beringen, one mistake almost changed a champion, and one choice has now reshaped a season.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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