Do Van der Poel and Van Aert pale in comparison to Thibau Nys? "Thibau this year... 34!"

After a few difficult first races, Nys suddenly came through on Sunday in the Superprestige in Overijse. In a dominant cross, he defeated Eli Iserbyt in the final lap. That surprising victory has set Nys on an upward trajectory, which his father also recognizes. "It's certainly better than last week," he laughs in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. "Overijse was a turning point. That victory gave him a huge boost. At the same time, he understands that on Friday and Sunday, he will again start with a blank slate that has to be filled. But the leap forward has been made."

Where you'd typically expect a gradual improvement from a rider recovering from illness, Nys made a huge jump all at once. His father says the explanation is far from complicated. "One simple explanation: rest. It was always train, train, train. After his throat infection, bronchitis and antibiotic course leading up to the cyclo-cross season, he needed to catch up. The plan was to continue training even last week, until suddenly, in Spain, he felt: Oh, I need to listen to my body. It needs recovery. So, he put on the brakes for about three days. The result was supercompensation."

Nys is following in the footsteps of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, successfully combining road and cyclo-cross racing. According to his father Sven, balancing the two disciplines is like walking a tightrope. "It’s complicated. You have to coordinate between two teams, Lidl-Trek and Baloise Trek Lions, which means aligning training schedules, training camps and race plans. Right now, we’re not focused on which cyclo-cross races Thibau will do in the coming weeks, but on what he’ll do next spring and summer. We always look one season ahead. We realize that at some point he’ll hit a limit because the impact of both seasons is immense."

According to Sven, his son’s challenge is greater than that of Van der Poel and Van Aert in their early years. "At 21, Van der Poel and Van Aert prioritized cyclo-cross and only rode about ten to fifteen road races. Thibau this year... 34! After which he’ll add another 22 cyclo-cross races. That leaves very little room for error." Nys wants to take on everything. His love for cyclo-cross is that strong. However, his father notes that that can’t last for his whole career. "Thibau loves cyclo-cross, ideally jumping into a race every weekend. I still think it’s beneficial for what he wants to achieve on the road. But in the long term, depending on his ambitions, adjustments will inevitably have to be made."

Nys’s road ambitions are only set to grow, as he recently mentioned. "His goal is to ride a few spring classics and a grand tour in 2025," his father confirms his son’s recent statements. Next year, Nys won’t be seen in the Flemish spring. He’s targeting the Ardennes classics. For example, he has set his sights on La Flèche Wallonne as his priority for the next spring. "While those races should suit him well, they come too early," his father says about the Strade Bianche and cobbled classics. "If you extend your winter season until the World Championships, you need recovery and rebuilding time afterward. La Flèche Wallonne, possibly the Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège if he’s truly in top form. That should be doable. He wants to ride a ‘warm-up’ race leading into these, like the Tour of the Basque Country."

Then there’s the matter of a grand tour. Nys himself feels the Tour de France aligns best with his current cyclo-cross ambitions, but he also understands that his status isn’t high enough to guarantee a spot. "We’re waiting for the route presentations to decide on a grand tour. The Mûr-de-Bretagne stage in the Tour would really suit him. But maybe the Giro or Vuelta have three or four such punchy finishes where he’d have a real chance to win," his father points out as key considerations. The Tour’s route presentation on Tuesday showed that the first week includes several finishes for punchers, making the allure of the Tour even stronger for Nys.