Cyclocross star Thibau Nys hit the dirt running as he opened his first full season at elite level with back-to-back victories at Exact Cross Beringen and the UCI World Cup in Waterloo this September. The latter also made him the third youngest winner of an elite-level World Cup and the third to achieve the feat before turning 21.
But there are no prizes for guessing the two who did it younger – Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. The comparisons are there to be made, but they’re not something Nys himself buys into, rightly wanting to avoid the pressure of matching the achievements of the pair both off the road and on it.
‘It’s easy to make the comparison because we are kind of walking the same path,” said Nys to Cyclingnews last month at the Lidl-Trek training camp in Calpe.
“On the other hand, it’s almost impossible to compare because both are so exceptionally good, not only in cyclocross but also on the road. What they’re doing is out of this world, so it’s really dangerous to compare with those guys.”
This was exactly the sentiment Nys’ father Sven had after his son took the historic win in Waterloo to take away that external pressure, but living up to the status of his father’s achievements could be all the more overwhelming.
Sven Nys is a bona fide legend of the cyclocross world, with two World Championship titles to his name and hundreds of elite victories at all of the top races. It’s a lot to live up to for young Thibau, but Nys junior is relishing every moment of it – delighted to have his uber-experienced and successful father there to mentor him during the pair’s time with Baloise Trek Lions.
“I have the feeling I don’t cope with it as I don’t see it as a struggle or a thing [the pressure of his father’s success]. The only struggle I have, or I feel the last couple of weeks, months, and years is just trying to get the best of myself and this is already challenging enough for me,” Nys said.
“I’m just doing my own thing and I never compare myself to him or anything like that. I learned a lot from him and he’s always there to help. I expected these years to learn less and less but actually, it’s the opposite. He is the best person to have close to me walking this path.”
Even in terms of racing the big guns in Van Aert and Van der Poel, Nys Senior is one of the few to beat the pair in cyclocross since they have come to dominate and win eight world titles between them.
Van Aert’s aforementioned World Cup win as a…
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