Thibau Nys offers glimpse into unbelievable cyclocross comeback: 'That uncertainty, that struggle with self-confidence'

Nys had his breakthrough on the road in 2024 with no fewer than eight victories, but won only once in 2025. And a year later, his results were even more sparse. He missed the entire spring season and didn’t return to racing until June. It was all because of a lingering knee injury, for which the Belgian—who turned 24 on Thursday—underwent surgery this year.

"I had prepatellar friction syndrome," he says in the video. "That's friction on top of the kneecap. It had already sidelined me for two weeks back in 2024. After some treatment, I never had any more trouble with it. I hadn’t taken it seriously enough. I thought, ‘It went away on its own back then, so it’ll happen again this time.’ But it became chronic and wouldn’t go away. Surgery was unavoidable.”

It took a while before he could race again. “Overall, things went well. I had few setbacks during my rehabilitation, but you’re stuck in your chair for four weeks because you’re not allowed to do anything—that knee had to rest. But ever since a training camp with the cyclocross team, I’ve started to feel more and more like an athlete again. I’ve gotten back into my rhythm.”

After a campaign in the Tour de Suisse and the subsequent Vuelta a España, the road racing season following the World Cycling Championships came to a close. All eyes turned to the cyclocross season. And Nys is heading into it with a brand-new Renault van, specially equipped. It features a mini-kitchen and embroidery with his initials, but what really matters is what’s in the back.

There, the cyclocross rider from Baloise – Het Poetsbureau Lions has a workstation where he can store all his bikes, wheels, and other gear. “I hop in and everything’s ready to go,” he grins. “Normally, at home, you have to take everything off the wall beforehand, the dog starts barking, and my dad’s already giving me a hard time because we have to leave in fifteen minutes. Now, I’ve never been this relaxed.”

And so he headed into his comeback calmly, but also with confidence. But nerves started to set in ahead of the Koppenbergcross. “That uncertainty, that struggle with self-confidence—you can’t really explain it,” he says. “One moment you think you can outpace everyone whenever you want, and the next moment you think you’ll have to drop out on the first lap.” How do you deal with it? “Trust your instincts, and trust the fact that I haven’t done too badly in the past.”

And that’s right: Nys won at the top of the Koppenberg for the first time back in 2023, and did so again last year, wearing the European champion’s jersey. And he did it again this year: despite two crashes, he beat out Michael Vanthourenhout to claim his third cobbled stage victory. “A lot of stupid mistakes—all on my part,” the 24-year-old Belgian says with a laugh.

Incidentally, he won while wearing a stunning outfit. As national champion, he wore a unique take on the Belgian tricolour: he opted for red shorts.

“It was just like Paul Herygers,” says Sven Nys. “And he was proud. Right away, people were comparing photos of you and Paul. It was pretty cool. And he can pull that off, can’t he?” Nys Sr. grins at the camera.