Thibau Nys

This page is dedicated to Thibau Nys, a Belgian cyclist competing for Lidl-Trek, known as both a cyclo-cross and a road cyclist and is considered one of the greatest talents in the peloton. IDLProCycling.com keeps a close eye on all news related to Nys, along with maintaining a biography of his career.

Cyclo-cross has been a part of Nys's life from a young age, thanks to his father, Sven Nys, a cyclo-cross racer who often brought young Thibau to his races. Thibau started his racing journey with BMX racing, participating in his first race at just five years old. Nys achieved his first major success in the novice category, which is for riders about fifteen or sixteen years old, quickly securing the Belgian championship title in his first year and defending it successfully in the following year. He achieved an impressive nineteen victories in his second year, one more than his father did in his time.

The next category where Nys continues to impress is the juniors. He wins a total of ten times in his first year and makes an impression in international competitions. He finishes third at the European Championship and the Belgian championship. At the World Championship, he narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth. In his second junior year, Nys dominated the scene, triumphing in almost every race, including the World Championships, European Championships, and Belgian Championships. In the World Cup general classification, it's not even close, and Nys wins by a clear margin. His 21 victories that year were a testament to his growing prowess.

Parallel to his cyclo-cross success, Nys also ventured into road racing. As a novice, he won the Flemish Brabant provincial championship and continued to excel as a junior with victories in Bierbeek and Huldenberg. On September 11, 2021, Nys made headlines by becoming the European champion in the under-23 category, as one of the youngest participants. He stayed ahead of a small group of riders in the sprint. In 2023, Nys secured his first professional win at the Tour of Norway, taking home both a stage win and the points classification. Later in the season, he also won the GP Kanton Aargau.

Meanwhile, Nys continues to be active in cyclo-cross. In the 2021/22 season, the young Belgian faced his first setbacks. In October, he broke his collarbone. Then, during the Belgian Championships in Middelkerke in January, he suffered a shoulder injury. When he is fit, Nys often competes with the pro's, so victories were scarce. However, this turned out to be good for his experience. At the World Championships for U23s at the end of the season, he managed to win a bronze medal. This was also the year he first stood on the podium of a professional race, finishing third in the Sluitingsprijs van Oostmalle.

In the 2022/23 season, Nys focused more on racing with the U23s. This led to him winning five times and also becoming world champion. At the European Championships, he was barely not the strongest and finished second. Ultimately, this was his last year in the U23, before moving up to the pro ranks in the next season.

Nys's debut season as a pro started with a bang. He notched his first elite victory in Beringen on October 9, 2023, out-sprinting Eli Iserbyt. He followed up with his first World Cup win in Waterloo, USA, crossing the finish line solo. The rest of the season holds much anticipation for what Nys will achieve next.