Thibau Nys crashed twice at the Koppenbergcross but still pulled off a remarkable feat

Nys was back on the course, and all of Belgium was thrilled about it on All Saints’ Day.

Wearing eye-catching red shorts and his Belgian champion’s jersey, the Belgian stated outright beforehand that only a win mattered on the Koppenberg.

And once the race got underway, it quickly became clear that Nys was among the best on the climb.

Victor Van de Putte, however, played an unfortunate leading role in the opening stages.

First, he caused a delay in the leading group when he fell—after a daring move on the outside—and not long after, he caused Nys to fall after tumbling into the barriers.

Nys had to take a moment to recover and straighten his handlebars before he was back on the course.

Of course, the others at the front quickly noticed Nys’s fall, so Michael Vanthourenhout made his move.

The Belgian rider from Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw had already won four of his first five cyclocross races and therefore had to pick up the pace to put some distance between himself and his new rival in the field.

Nys reacted as if stung by a wasp and thundered through the field at full speed.

Nys was soon back in third place, but he was half a minute behind Vanthourenhout after the crash.

Moreover, the Belgian champion was joined by Gerben Kuypers, a teammate of Vanthourenhout, and his own teammate, Pim Ronhaar, was unable to make much of an impact after the Dutchman also crashed.

Just as Nys and Kuypers had closed the gap to Vanthourenhout to 7 seconds, he crashed again. This time it was his own fault, and because his handlebars were crooked again, Nys had to stop at the equipment station. Kuypers, acting like a true teammate, held him back a bit longer, so Nys started the Koppenberg 16 seconds behind.

With two laps to go, he was 12 seconds behind, but he had managed to shake off Kuypers. That gave him a boost, and so, heading into the final lap, Nys caught up to Vanthourenhout, and the battle for the win could truly begin. Head-to-head, they thundered toward the final ascent of the Koppenberg.

1. Thibau Nys
2. Michael Vanthourenhout
3. Gerban Kupers
4. Pim Ronhaar
5. Cameron Mason