Thibau Nys takes first WorldTour victory and leader’s jersey in Romandie after a flight of 150 kilometers

In the Tour de Romandie, Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) won the second stage from Fribourg to Les Marécottes. Our compatriot joined the breakaway of the day at 150 kilometers from the finish (together with Xandro Meurisse), held his ground on the tough final climb and finally beat the Italian Vendrame in the sprint.

In addition to Nys and Meurisse, Roger Adrià (BORA – hansgrohe), Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) and Sean Flynn (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) also jumped in the flight of the day.

The escapees started with a bonus of just over two minutes on the final climb to Les Marécottes (7.6 kilometers at 7.5 percent), but there the peloton started to chip away at the lead.

In the steepest kilometer, Vendrame exploded at the front, but a strong Thibau Nys managed to bite into his wheel. Meurisse also returned in character.

Luke Plapp (Team Jayco Alula) jumped away from the peloton and grabbed the leading trio by the shoulders. Meurisse cracked, but Nys and Vendrame were able to catch up. In the sprint Nys proved stronger than the Italian from Decathlon. For 21-year-old Nys it is his first professional victory at WorldTour level.

“It’s the first time in my career that I was in a breakaway and I didn’t know the final climb. The team guided me perfectly through the last kilometers from the support car,” said Nys after the finish. “I tried to stay cool, not risk anything and time it well. The goal was to be good here, but winning immediately is something else. I will remember this for the rest of my life.”

Pull drops out

Thanks to the bonuses, Nys is also the new leader in Romandie, four seconds ahead of Vendrame. An individual time trial of 15.5 kilometers is scheduled for Friday in Oron. The 21-year-old Belgian thinks he will lose the leader’s jersey after that.

It was also announced on Thursday that bicycle manufacturer Trek will stop as a prominent name sponsor of the cyclo-cross team of Sven (and rider Thibau) Nys at the end of 2024. The contract with name sponsor Baloise has been extended until the end of 2026.