Thibau Nys has mixed feelings at the end of his spring season: "I didn't feel confident enough to say: come on"

Don't be fooled by the fact that Eschborn-Frankfurt is one of the newer and smaller WorldTour races – which means that a team like Visma | Lease a Bike doesn't have to ride it – because at Lidl-Trek they certainly don't think so. The Germany-based Lidl is the team's main sponsor and was well-represented with fruit stands in Frankfurt, so this would be a greatly appreciated victory. Just like last year's Deutschland Tour was for the team.

Nys also saw the race as a big opportunity before Liège-Bastogne-Liège. When asked, "What would you rather have: a top ten finish in Liège or a win in Eschborn-Frankfurt, where you will be riding on Thursday?” he had to think for a moment. “Umm... I think a top ten finish in Liège would mean more than winning in Frankfurt, but winning in Frankfurt would be my first WorldTour one-day race. So I'll go for that."

"Those are things I sometimes think about. A top ten in Liège gives me more perspective with a view to the future than winning in Frankfurt. But anyway, to give you a real answer: winning in Frankfurt," said Nys on the Friday before Liège. In the end, he achieved one of his goals – fifth place in Liège – but not the other – 35th in Frankfurt.

Why didn't things go as expected in Frankfurt? "I couldn't pace myself well on that climb (Feldberg, ed.). I felt like I couldn't really push myself over the limit, which I managed to do very well in Liège," he concluded.

"And I made a mistake by not attacking at the top, hoping we could catch up with the group later. It was only a difference of about ten seconds at the top, so I gambled that we would just close the gap on the descent." But the gap only grew, said Nys, who still had teammates Soren Kragh Andersen and Andrea Bagioli with him at that point.

"To be honest, I felt better after that. I didn't have the legs to win, although I did win a sprint here," said Nys. "I just had a really tough moment on that climb and didn't see it positively for a moment. We had Albert (Withen Philipsen, who finished sixth ed.) at the front, and I didn't feel confident enough to say: come on guys, ride for me. Because I could still be dropped on that last climb. But it was perhaps a missed opportunity," he reflects.

It was hot in Frankfurt, but that wasn't the reason, according to Nys. "The heat is a different feeling. I don't think that was it. It just didn't quite work out. Not bad, but not good enough either." And now? It's time to relax after a month of pressure. "I can rest now," Nys said with a smile. His next goals are (presumably) the Belgian Championships and the Tour de France.