Have we got a new world champion? It may be a bit early to make that statement, but Thibau Nys continues to amaze us. He did this again on Thursday in the Tour de Romandie with his first victory at WorldTour level. And there is something to be said about that.
One year after date
Because this is how the young Nys continues the trend of 2023 and last crosswinter unabated. Let’s go back to exactly one year ago today, in the same Tour de Romandie where the first stage in line was on the program. After all, there was no difference at that time that Nys Jr. already achieved his first victory at WorldTour level. In the sprint, only Ethan Vernon proved to be too strong.
Agreed, the sprinters’ field there was not exactly world-class, which Nys also seemed to realize. Because despite the fact that that victory could also have been classified as a stunt, he took his frustrations away on his handlebars. Despite the fact that it was only his sixth race in the service of – at that time – Trek-Segafredo among the pros, his belief in his own abilities already proved to be very great.
That is also the case with his team. The fact that Nys was immediately allowed to sprint for victory in Romandie last year, and was also outplayed as leader in the weeks that followed, is the purest proof of this. But even today it appears that at Lidl-Trek they realize what a gem they have in house. The many messages after his victory over X make that clear. “Get used to this image in the future,” he even said immodestly with the photo of a celebrating Nys.
Belgian cycling god
Nys didn’t have to wait long for that first victory among the pros. He also finished second in the Tour of Hungary, but at the end of May he was successful in the Tour of Norway. A few days later he also casually added the one-day competition ‘De Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau’ to this. GP Aargau for the friends. Not a resounding name in terms of race, but even more so that of his opponents there.
Marc Hirschi, Pello Bilbao, Benoit Cosnefroy, Marco Haller (even once beat Wout van Aert in the sprint, ed.), Jesus Herrada, they all lost out to the then barely 20-year-old Nys. You could say that a new Belgian cycling god was born, but given his family background and his achievements in the field, that was actually already a fact.
Because Thibau is already immensely popular. As insinuated, this has to do with father Sven, but mainly due to his own results and behavior during and off the race. An amiable young guy who is at the same time very articulate but also very modest. Logical consequence: Nys is already an attention magnet, and will become even more so in the future – perhaps more than he would like. “The law of attraction”. Although intentionally intended differently, he puts it perfectly himself.
Better than Van Aert and Van der Poel
Nys can currently consult Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel for this. Both completed the same route as Nys and are currently the Belgian and Dutch cycling gods par excellence. But there is one big difference: unlike Wout and Mathieu, Thibau Nys made the choice much earlier to also want to shine on the road. And that has its consequences.
After all, Van der Poel and Van Aert made quite late – how great would their list of achievements otherwise have been? – the switch. This means that they both only managed to take their first victory at WorldTour level in 2019. Both at the age of 24, to draw another similarity between the two eternal competitors. Van der Poel won Dwars door Vlaanderen, Van Aert won a stage in the Dauphiné. So Nys is already doing it at the age of 21.
However, the fact that he is already further ahead than Van Aert and Van der Poel is too simplistic, mainly due to the fact that they ignored the road for longer. Moreover, their victories were of slightly greater magnitude than those of Nys in Romandie and they immediately progressed to even greater victories. Van der Poel brilliantly won the Amstel Gold Race in 2019, Van Aert took his first stage victory in the Tour de France.
Possibilities countless
But it still looks good: taking your first WordTour victory three years earlier than men of that caliber. Leaving aside the comparison with Van Aert and Van der Poel, it is clear that this Nys will simply progress to the absolute top, and will also reap results there in the foreseeable future. That is also the intention of the Balenian.
“I want to continue to evolve as a puncher type and hope that in the long term this will also offer opportunities for classical work – in the Ardennes anyway – or stage wins in major tours.” In any case, it will still take some deliberation as to whether or not Nys’s options lie.
He can continue to surprise us – and also father Sven. “This victory is far beyond expectations. But when Thibau sees the finish and gets space, he is a real killer. But it is the first time he has done this at World Tour level. This offers enormous prospects for the future,” says a proud dad.
