Remarkable: Nys offers "sincere apology" after third stage win: "Said I wasn't feeling well"

For that reason, Nys felt it necessary to apologize afterward. "First of all, a sincere apology to all riders. I said I didn't feel well, and I meant that. I wasn't at my best level today. With great luck, I managed to be there in the final. I was suffering tremendously on the climbs, and the last steep climb, I think I was in the third group. Somehow, we returned, partly because other teams were also riding."

"It was simply a matter of luck that I managed to be there in the last kilometer," Nys continued. "I kept believing in it despite everything and didn't give up. Only in the last three hundred meters did I start to believe I could win. I only had one power punch left and had to launch it immediately. I was struggling, though; this was a mentally tough win."

Unlike his previous stage wins, Nys did not feel he was in control this time. "It went fast from the beginning, and I had no idea where I was riding. I knew what I had been doing the previous times, but now I could only follow and hope that luck had come my way. I don't know how, but it happened."

Regardless of how the legs are, when young Nys sees an arrival on a climb, extra energy is released. "Even though I see off on the climbs, I still have that punch at the end. That's also a big difference with the other riders still in the group. Those were mostly real climbers. I'm not a climber but know how to get over those hills. Next, I know I have a good chance."

"It's all going much better than I could have dreamed. But at the same time, I am aware that things cannot always go so well. There are bound to be difficult moments in the future. I can only enjoy how well things are going now," Nys concludes realistically.