Thibau Nys, Lidl-Trek's 'Plan B', made a mistake during Vuelta a España sprint: 'I should have taken a risk'

It wasn’t until Stage 10 until Thibau Nys making his mark at the 2026 Vuelta a España. The 23-year-old Belgian sprinted uphill to a third-place finish on the tenth day, and that was actually the first time we saw the Lidl-Trek puncher among the leaders. A sign of things to come? Nys shared his thoughts immediately after the finish.

As mentioned, Nys wasn’t at his best yet in the first week of the Vuelta a España—and neither was the rest of the Lidl-Trek team, for that matter. Mattias Skjelmose hung on in the general classification, Mads Pedersen struggled to get into sprinting position, and Nys’s best result was a 21st-place finish on day five. The German team had hoped for more.

With Pedersen sick at the start of the second week, it was already clear that the Dane wouldn’t be a factor in Stage 10, so Nys got his chance. His preparation hadn’t been ideal—he’d undergone surgery on his femoral artery (in March) and had come down with a virus during an altitude training camp (in July)—but he now seems to be finding his legs after all.

"So far, this has been a bit of a tough Vuelta for me. It’s either way too hard for me when the general classification contenders go for it, or the peloton goes for a bunch sprint. I didn’t have the legs or the mental strength to get involved in that. "This was one of the days when I had to perform, and I really had the legs I wanted," Nys said afterward.

Anyone who finishes third in an uphill sprint might ask themselves: Did I miss my chance somewhere? In Nys’s case, he may have been a bit too eager in the run-up to the sprint, with several attacks. “I felt really good, and I would have liked to finish with a smaller group. It’s a little frustrating, because I wanted the race to be as tough as possible.”

That didn't quite work out, so the peloton remained large and Nys didn't manage to go beyond a podium finish. “I was too comfortable on the hilly section and thought there would still be some fast riders in the mix. As a team, we did everything perfectly, but at the 600-meter mark—in the final right-hand turn—I got boxed in a bit.”

As a result, Nys had to come from too far back, though his charge was still impressive. “I had to start my sprint at 550 meters, though that wasn’t a big deal. I came up from behind with a lot of speed, but made a small mistake at 300 meters by sitting back one more time to find a line. I should have taken a risk to win, which might have caused me to lose everything and finish sixth.”

Disappointment prevailed at the finish, but the fact that Nys’s legs are in top form is excellent news for the rest of this race. “I should have held onto the momentum and kept sprinting, because what did I have to lose? Third or tenth place—it’s all the same,” said the true winner in the Belgian.

"Actually, I wanted to be in the breakaway today, but Visma | Lease a Bike controlled the race from the start, so there wasn't any room for that," he added, referring to Lidl-Trek's strategy for the day. “After that, it was Mads’ turn, but he wasn’t feeling great and is still waiting for his legs to recover a bit after the Tour de France. He’ll be back in form in a few days, but that meant I got to go for my chance.”