"In these types of competitions, he will always have a harder time compared to the specific cyclo-crossers. That turning and twisting, that is something completely different. Put him in Dendermonde and he will still win there in five years, but this is something else," continues Nys' explanation of Van Aert's form. "So we knew there were possibilities. If Thibau had a good day, there would definitely be possibilities. We told him that and it turned out that way."
Thibau Nys is often touted as the natural successor to Van Aert and
Mathieu van der Poel and the Belgian continues to emerge as a capable multi-discipline star, much to father Sven's immense delight. "I think that Thibau has mainly managed to create a good combination of intensity, during the Christmas period, and now base and volume. Every now and then a stimulus is added, but you are not going to win or lose that extra bit in this period of the winter," he says of his son. "The danger now is that you push it too far and then you do not reach the World Championship at this level."
"We have to be especially careful now, because you're not really going to improve anymore. And Thibau is fine now. It will depend on the weather conditions whether he can do nice things at the World Championship or whether he just lacks that little bit of absolute power, compared to a Mathieu van der Poel," Nys concludes. "Then I'm talking about very tough conditions, in which it's always pushing and stomping. That suits him a little less."