Following Thibau Nys’ victory within the European Cyclocross Championships on the weekend, former double cyclocross world champion Niels Albert has mentioned that he may someday attain the identical stage as Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.
The win was 21-year-old Nys’ first at an elite main championship and comes every week after taking his first win of the 2024-25 cyclocross season on the Superprestige Overijse.
The street season simply gone, his second within the WorldTour with Lidl-Trek, has additionally seen Nys rack up 9 wins, together with 5 phases throughout the Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse and Tour de Pologne.
Writing in his column for Het Laatste Nieuws, Albert appeared again on the European Championships, noting that Nys’ victory “wasn’t an enormous shock” and acknowledging his main progress on the street throughout the 2024 season.
“As soon as once more, the way in which he managed the race appealed to me. Identical to in Overijse, he was economical and managed and continually maintaining an outline. Then he struck superbly and mercilessly on the proper second.
“Does this herald a brand new part in his growth as a cyclocross rider? I would not dare push it that far,” Albert continued. “Okay, he gained a Championship, however it wasn’t an enormous shock. His greatest progress got here final summer season with these 9 wins on the street, greater than half of which got here within the WorldTour.”
Albert, who gained the cyclocross world title in 2009 and 2012 earlier than being compelled to retire early attributable to coronary heart issues in 2014, outlined what “crossing a brand new threshold” in racing would imply for Nys – matching ‘the massive two’.
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“Crossing a brand new threshold in cyclocross would imply using to the end tomorrow with Wout van Aert and/or Mathieu van der Poel and beating him within the dash,” Albert wrote.
“We’re not going to position him at that stage. Once more: not but, as a result of, flip it or twist it nevertheless you need – at a sure level he’ll go in that path. I’m not speaking about equalling, not to mention surpassing. However actually ‘getting near’.
“If Mathieu and Wout seem someplace at the beginning now and considered one of them wins, we are saying, ‘Nicely, who else?’ Together with his massive engine and technical and tactical capabilities, I can see us doing the identical with Thibau eventually.
“It is easy: the ability and the ability that he develops on the street additionally makes him develop additional in cyclocross. Not one of the assembled competitors may dream of that for even a second.”
For his half, Nys mentioned that he is hoping to “journey a constant season” following his title victory, even when he would not count on to face on high of the rostrum each week, because the likes of Van der Poel and Van Aert would.
“I get pleasure from using at a excessive stage on this jersey, I hope I can proceed to take action. I recovered very properly from the Koppenbergcross. I had a improbable day right here and I simply hope to proceed that line,” he informed Sporza.
“It will not be to win each week, however as soon as 2nd, third or win… That is what I do it for. The followers give what they arrive for, supply spectacle and journey a constant season.”
