Sven Nys gives surprising answer on question about the European Championships: "Maybe it would be better if Lars wins, instead of my son Thibau"

It's nice, these days, to be the team manager of the Baloise Trek Lions. Sven Nys sees his son Thibau surprise week after week in cyclocross, and Lars van der Haar is also heading to the European Championships in Pontchateau on Sunday with excellent form. IDLProCycling.com spoke at length with Nys senior on Saturday, who in that interview also looked ahead to the European Championship battle in France. Officially in national teams, but unofficially of course not...

"It's a typical French cross. There are some elevation changes, but also a very wide track, giving you plenty of room to move up from the back," Sven Nys says, when asked what he thinks of the course in Pontchateau. "There are hardly any typical Flemish cross corners, where you have to turn 180 degrees and accelerate. This means that if it remains relatively rideable, it riders can stay close for quite a while. It's easy to sit in the wheel, out of the wind and conserve energy, which has often been a proven strategy in the past. Sometimes it remained exciting deep into the final, with very large groups."

The big question is: what will the weather bring? Throughout the week, there was already a lot of rain in Pontchateau, but during the recon on Friday, it appeared that this had hardly affected the course. Nys thinks that might change on Sunday. "If the weather remains extremely wet and that affects the course, then after three or four races on Sunday, the conditions will get tough. It will turn into more of a race that tests your fitness. On Saturday, the course wasn't ridden on, so that will have a huge impact on Sunday's course. Nothing has been torn up yet, and the wind is making sure it dries up."

Will Thibau Nys climb the European Championship steps with the bike?

The chances of a fairly fast lap are therefore high. And then, Baloise Trek Lions immediately have two top favorites with Nys and Van der Haar. "I do think it's a Thibau lap, he likes this. It's a bit like Tabor in terms of elevation, and he has gained confidence here in the past by winning his first World Cup race as a junior. The finale suits him, with barriers and then an ascending section to the finish. The course suits him, but he also won races this year on completely different courses... This fits perfectly within his abilities."

In the second part of the course, there's a lot of technical skill involved, ideal for Nys junior. With a total of three steps, the question is: does the young Belgian dare to take a few of them jumping on the bike? Father Sven can hardly imagine it, but: "I haven't checked out the steps yet, but I don't think so. No one has ever done that in the past, so imagine if that were to happan too..." he concedes slightly. "I don't know. If you want to win the race, you will have to be very attentive. You have to take your position and have the right timing to produce an explosion at the top. On paper, Thibau has that, but it remains a championship and that's always a special day."

Sven Nys secretly prefers Lars van der Haar to win over Thibau

After hearing from national coaches Gerben de Knegt (Netherlands) and Sven Vanthourenhout (Belgium), it's almost refreshing to hear that Nys will 'just' take team interests into account on Sunday. Baloise Trek Lions riders Nys and Van der Haar will really take each other into account, he believes. "We would like to become European champions, which we have managed a few times. We are in a situation where we can dream of a title, but it doesn't matter to us who that is. Perhaps it would even be better, and that might sound a bit strange, if Lars wins today, instead of Thibau. It's all moving really fast."

Sven is referring to Thibau's victories in cyclocross so far and immediately emphasizes that he will definitely cheer for a win by his son. "If Thibau takes that title now, that's great, but he's relaxed after winning the Koppenbergcross. If Lars wins the European Championship, Thibau won't go home frustrated. If both are in the final? Then they are allowed to battle it out. It would be a shame if someone from our team doesn't win because they are just following each other. They are wise enough to handle that situation. In cyclocross, you don't often have situations where things go wrong, but of course, it can happen. And if Thibau, Lars, and Eli Iserbyt go to the finish and Eli wins, then he was the best. This course is fair enough, tricking each other will not be easy. It will be a man-to-man fight."