“When Emiel Verstrynge plays dirty, Thibau Nys is in trouble” – Former CX world champion on dramatic moment the Belgian title nearly flipped

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 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.”

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.

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.”

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.