'It's not that I'm brimming with confidence right now'; Thibau Nys hopes to be especially physically ready for Tour de France

“It’s all happened much quicker than expected,” Nys told IDLProCycling.com. “Of course, the Tour was always something I followed, but I never thought I’d actually be riding it myself. I was a cyclo-cross rider. It felt like a different world.”

He recalls childhood memories of cheering for the stars. “I remember riding around the house wearing a green jersey and a polka dot helmet. I watched the stage where Froome ran up Mont Ventoux in 2016. And when Tom Boonen wore the green jersey, I had a matching polo shirt.”

“I’m looking forward to it, but I really don’t know what to expect,” Thibau Nys admitted with refreshing honesty. “It’s all quite overwhelming — the staff, the media, the sheer attention surrounding the Tour. But I’m not afraid of that. My main hope is that I’m physically ready. Missing out on the Baloise Belgium Tour due to a stomach virus meant I lost a valuable opportunity for confirmation — and a mental boost.”

“I missed that confirmation,” Nys repeated. “It’s hard to get that clarity in training. Normally that’s possible, but everything’s come so quickly now. You need at least a couple of days to properly recover from illness and everything that comes with it.”

The son of legendary rider Sven Nys lined up against the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogacar for the first time this spring — and he’ll face them again in the first week of the Tour de France. “If I’m at my absolute best, I could try to match them. If I’m at my best… but that remains to be seen.”

Stages 2, 4, 6 and 7 could provide real opportunities for the young Belgian, though he hasn’t personally scouted them. “We’ve reviewed them on VeloViewer, and they look pretty tough. I think it’s going to be hectic from the gun — barely any moments to breathe. That’s something completely new for me, and I’m really curious to see how I’ll handle it.”

“I can’t say yet whether I’ll feel good enough to raise my hand and say, ‘Guys, today it’s all for me,’” Nys admitted. “I’m very honest with the team about that. If I’m not ready, I’ll be the first to support the others. Right now, I don’t really know where I stand or what to expect. I can let go of that uncertainty, but I’m definitely not brimming with confidence.”

On the opening day, Lidl-Trek will be working for Jonathan Milan, with a shot at the yellow jersey on the line. “I’m not part of his lead-out train, but I do hope to contribute in some way and lend a hand. Once the train is up to speed and things get hectic, I’ll probably step back and let them do their thing. We’ve got plenty of strong all-rounders in the squad.”

Positioning — a key skill in modern sprinting — remains a work in progress for Nys. “Bike handling and positioning are two completely different things,” he explained. “And for me, it often depends on how good my form is. I’ll need to stay razor-sharp because the level is extremely high. My numbers right now aren’t bad, but they’re also not where they were back in the spring.”