Sven Nys doesn't hold back about Thibau: "The swings in his performance are very extreme in certain situations"

This Saturday in Hulst in the Netherlands, Thibau Nys once again failed to turn the tide. The European cyclo-cross champion was not a factor in the Cyclo-cross World Cup race, finishing 16th, far behind winner Niels Vandeputte. This marked his fifth consecutive race outside the top ten, a streak his father, Sven Nys, pointed out in the Play Sports studio.

Fourteenth in Hamme, twelfth in Antwerp, a DNF after a crash in Dublin, eleventh in Namur, and now sixteenth in Hulst — it's been a rough few weeks for Thibau Nys, who started the season strong with three victories, capped by his European Championship win. "A bad day," concluded father Sven after the race in Hulst. "It just wasn’t good, and I didn’t see any clear excuse for it."

Thibau Nys did have two minor crashes, as shown on TV. "He swapped tires three or four times and didn’t really seem confident," Sven added. "But there aren’t any real excuses — he just wasn’t good enough. Thibau didn’t have any major crashes or anything. He looked tired, not sharp, and that’s not enough to go for a result."

"The strange thing with Thibau is that tomorrow (in Zonhoven, ed.), he might suddenly be very strong again. His good and bad days alternate a lot. That’s something you sometimes see with young riders, but with him, it’s very extreme in certain situations," said Sven, who also serves as team manager of Baloise Trek Lions.

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The tide can turn quickly for a rider like Nys

Before the race, Sven Nys had already commented on his son’s form. "In Namur, he had two flat tires and rode on those for a long time. For his mental state, things really need to turn around soon because I think his form is actually good. You can see that in his physical numbers, but it needs to translate into results. With someone like Thibau, it can change suddenly."

Thibau himself echoed this sentiment in his pre-race interview. "I’ve been feeling really good in training over the past weeks, so I hope it will show in one of the upcoming races. Whether that means winning, I don’t know. But just being competitive again would be great. I can put this rough patch into perspective because there’s been some bad luck involved as well. There’s no need to overthink it too much."