Thibau Nys begins part two of his road season on Friday in a race full of both good and bad memories

Of course, the Tour de Suisse, which begins Sunday in Küssnacht, draws much of the attention, but part of that same peloton will already be in action on Friday in Leuggern. That’s where the Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau begins and ends, formerly known as the GP Gippingen.

Among the riders taking part are Neilson Powless, Rui Costa (EF Pro Cycling), Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), Ion Izagirre, Stefano Oldani (Cofidis), and Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), along with yet-to-be-announced riders from Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe, XDS-Astana, Intermarché–Wanty, Q36.5, and Tudor.

Representing Lidl–Trek is Thibau Nys. The Belgian will resume his racing calendar in Switzerland after wrapping up his spring campaign on May 1st at Eschborn–Frankfurt. In recent weeks, Nys has been training at altitude in the Sierra Nevada, where he also suffered a minor crash, but fortunately without serious consequences.

After the Swiss one-day race, Thibau Nys is expected to line up for the Baloise Belgium Tour, and like all other WorldTour pros, he is also required to start at the Belgian National Championships in Binche. That course should suit him well, just like the first week of the Tour de France is expected to.

But first, Nys will showcase his form in Switzerland, where he’ll get an immediate chance at redemption after last year. In the 2023 edition of the Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau, Nys crashed while in a promising position. Just a few days later, however, he bounced back impressively with a stage win in the Tour de Suisse. Two years ago, he actually won the GP des Kantons Aargau, his first-ever victory in a one-day race.