A fine battle between two national champions, Belgian Thibau Nys and Brit Cameron Mason, was the story of Sunday’s third round of the 2025-2026 X2O Badkamers Trofee, the Flandriencross in Hamme, Belgium. Nys prevailed to take his second of the three rounds, and Joris Nieuwenhuis clung on to the series lead, 24 seconds up on Mason and 42 seconds ahead of Nys.
Preliminaries
Round 2 victor JNieuwenhuis sat atop the GC, 40 seconds up on Mason, 41 seconds faster than Toon Aerts, out with illness, and 49 seconds superior to Round 1 winner Nys. Last year’s X2O overall champion Eli Iserbyt was still recovering from undergoing two iliac artery surgeries. Niels Vandeputte, +0:54, took last year’s Flandriencross.
Vandeputte seized the hole shot to lead a long string through the woods towards the pond. Filipe Orts pushed into Position 2. Nieuwenhuis was having a shocker. Orts nicked the bonus seconds from Vandeputte at the line.
The Spaniard carried on at the front early on Lap 2. Tom Meeusen, Emiel Verstrynge and Kevin Kuhn were all present and accounted for. Nys worked his way up the line. A sextet separated itself and hit the line with a seven-second lead. Nieuwenhuis was up to 13th.
Nys pressed at the start of Lap 3 of 10 and led the gang along the pond. Nieuwenhuis kept picking off riders. Vanthourenhout was only five seconds back of the sextet going into Lap 4.
With Vanthourenhout now aboard, Verstrynge took a pull. Mason relieved him. All seven leaped onto fresh bikes. Nieuwenhuis abstained and finally caught up. Just before Lars van der Haar bridged, Mason accelerated and Nys and Vandeputte had to chase.
Vandeputte couldn’t keep up with Nys and worked to avoid Nieuwenhuis and Vanthourenhout’s company. Nys finally snagged Mason at the end of Lap 5.
Nieuwenhuis and Vanthourenhout linked up with Vandeputte on Lap 6. Mason wouldn’t relent in leading the race. Nieuwenhuis was 11 seconds in arrears. At last, Nys claimed Position 1 on Lap 7. Nieuwenhuis had van der Haar and Vandeputte as podium rivals, the latter slipping on the stairs.
On the penultimate lap, van der Haar and Nieuwenhuis continued their podium scrap. Mason went back to the front but he was still locked to Nys when they heard the bell.
Nys hit the front and staved off Mason’s challenge at the pond. They…
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