Thibau Nys: “I don’t think World Championship was among Mathieu van der Poel’s best 10 days this winter”

Nys — unlike the other Belgian medal contender Niels Vandeputte, who was struck by illness in the Belgian camp — was sharp from the gun. The man in blue followed the two riders in orange, Van der Poel and Del Grosso, in the opening phase, which effectively carved the podium contenders in stone.

For silver, it became a head-to-head between the riders who represent both the future and the present of cyclo-cross: Del Grosso and Nys. The two youngsters swapped places several times, but in the rain-soaked closing phase it was Del Grosso who came out on top. Nys, however, did not leave empty-handed, taking bronze.

Thibau, last year you won bronze and now again. Then it was the best possible result — how do you see it now?
'I think I can be happy with this third place. Until the last lap, I was confident I would get silver, but I opted for a lighter profile. That was perfect, until a lap and a half from the end.

I made my move at the right moment and opened a gap, but then it suddenly started pouring. It was too late to change tyres and I had to make do with what I had. I knew it would be difficult because I was losing seconds on every corner. I would have liked to have finished second, but second and third don't make that much difference."

In Formula 1, they monitor the weather down to the second. Could you have done anything differently?
‘Maybe. We didn't expect it. If it had been ten minutes earlier, we could have switched to a heavier profile. But now it was too late and I take responsibility for that, because it was a risk. I'm not using it as an excuse, but as a mistake. And that's part of cyclocross: it's about building up your legs and avoiding mistakes, in the broadest sense of the word.’

What was it like to battle it out with Tibor in front of 50,000 frenzied spectators, mainly from Belgium and the Netherlands, as a Belgian and a Dutchman?
'That was cool. Tibor and I know each other well and we understood each other, because we knew we were riding for the podium together. There were a lot of people, but as a rider you didn't feel like it was crazy. Because there were also many moments, besides the water or the steep hills, when there was no audience at all.

Maybe there were more spectators than last year, but the feeling wasn't the same. That was ten times crazier, from a cyclocross rider's perspective.‘

Was it the duel of the future?
'It would be nice, but I don't know. It's difficult to predict things, also because you don't know how important cyclocross will remain for him.’

There was also the one hill where Tibor often made some difference. Can you reflect on that?
‘That's right. During the reconnaissance, I had found the perfect line on the left side at that point, but because of the rain and the other races, there were now a lot of footprints there. That meant we had to go on the right, and it didn't go very well there. That had nothing to do with the tire choice, but more with momentum. And I didn't quite have that, although it didn't always go badly.’

Did you try to follow Mathieu in the opening stages?
‘There were a few moments when I looked ahead and was a bit surprised to still see him. I'm sure Mathieu wasn't having his best day of the season, or even one of his best five or ten days. But he was still the best. What can you do? It's just a little bit too fast; on this course, you can hardly compete with his horsepower.’

This was also your last race of the season. How would you rate yourself?
‘7.5 out of 10, or maybe 8. It was good, but it could be better. Much better. But it was solid, with six victories and the Belgian title. I've made progress, been more consistent and become stronger. But I want to improve even more.’

What comes next?
“I'm going to take some time off and then build up to the GP Indurain and the Tour of the Basque Country. There I want to find the last few percent for the Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and then I'll also do Eschborn-Frankfurt.”