Nys secured title his father never won, but turned a little pale due to chain failure Haverdings and huge barriers

The Nys family is extremely successful thanks to both father and son, but today, Thibau achieved a title that his father, Sven, never managed to win: the European title. While Sven watched from the sidelines with a big smile after the race, Thibau spoke afterward about the pressure that comes with his legacy, which only increased due to equipment failure at Baloise Trek Lions.

Speaking to VTM Nieuws, Sven Nys described how he watched the race unfold from the center field. "Thibau handled it very maturely and played the race in a grown-up way. He waited for the right moments and led the race the entire time," said a beaming father. After a period of illness, nothing was certain for his son, but he managed to clinch the European title in Pontevedra. "His cyclo-cross season didn’t start well due to his busy summer and an illness, but now, winning in Overijse and claiming this jersey here… I actually have no words for it. This is a goosebump moment. He’s competing against the pros here, you know."

Sunday began dramatically for the Baloise Trek Lions team after David Haverdings lost a medal opportunity due to bad luck. "Thankfully, we can end the day beautifully. A title like this is something that boosts the team morale. It gives everyone wings. With his explosiveness and killer instinct, Thibau was able to finish this off. He handles the pressure very well and actually thrives on winning jerseys. There will be a big smile on his face later, and he’ll get a big hug from me. A good glass of red wine is in order tonight," concluded a smiling Nys.

Nevertheless, the faulty chains of Van Den Boer and Haverdings caused some stress for the Nys family. Father Sven explained to HLN: "This season, we are riding with a new derailleur group from SRAM, which we already had problems with during training. They addressed those problems, delivered new chains, and then the problem disappeared, but not completely. We must investigate it: chains should not fail when a rider puts a lot of force on the pedals."

Nys junior said he had not given it a second thought during the cross, his father standing by the side did. "I yelled at Thibau during every passage at the pit area that he had to be careful," he said. "Don't put too much force when accelerating. You might break your chain," the advice sounded. As if the devil played with it, the chain briefly fell off two laps before the finish. "I shifted gears, and my chain fell between the spokes and cassette. I thought it was over for a moment, but it's a matter of keeping calm."

One place where Nys did turn a little white was on the course. The barriers were higher than usual, so not everyone jumped over them. Nys did after he failed to do so during recon. 'Because I was startled. Those were barriers forty centimeters high as they must be, and not like the lousy barriers of the World Cup, the ones everyone can jump over. I could make the difference because I knew Eli and Lars would not jump. Every round, we gained a few meters on them.'

Despite his father Sven being a legend in the cyclo-cross world, Thibau feels little pressure associated with that legacy. "There's always some pressure, but I always say I feel more pressure from myself than from the outside world, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing," he told the Dutch broadcast NOS. "I just try to keep everything well-balanced, and so far, it’s going well. I’m just trying to write my own story. It doesn’t have to be the same as what my dad did in the past. Of course, I take advantage of it, as I’ve always closely watched the way he lived. I think that pays off."

His own story is already very different from that of his father, as Thibau is finding a lot of success on the road as well. Where does the limit lie? "I’m living my dream at the moment. I don’t know where it will all end. I also dream of the classics on the road, which I’ll get a taste of next year. But it’s dangerous to make big statements about that. I’m going to keep growing steadily, both on the road and in cyclo-cross. I’d love to become world champion someday and win big races on the road as well, but we’ll see. I’ll give it my all."