It’s common for ‘cross riders to swap out their bikes every few laps, but Thibau Nys did something you don’t see every day (although this is certainly not the first time. Michael Vanthourenhout broke his shoe several times this season, and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado broke hers in 2023.)
You may remember Mathieu van der Poel breaking one of his BOA fasteners with 15 km to go when he was leading the road worlds. A crash on a greasy corner meant it was dangling off his shoe in the finale. Thankfully, he still had the front BOA, so he ripped off the broken one and pulled off a win for the ages.
Although MvdP would definitely notice the decreased power transfer on the upstroke, there was no time to change out shoes. Pros often have a rainbag in their follow cars with spare shoes, jackets, and arm or leg warmers—but with the gap as close as it was on the tricky course, there was no time.
The shoe swap
In ‘cross, having a broken shoe would be even more noticeable. Given the steep climbs and muddy slogs riders have to endure, riding with a half-fastened shoe would be disastrous.
Eli Iserbyt celebrated his team’s rebranding as Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines with a dominant victory at the GP Sven Nys, the fifth round of the 2024-2025 X2O Badkamers Trofee in Baal, Belgium, extending his overall lead in the series. The race, named after Thibau’s father, the former multiple world champion, was missing the current world champion, Mathieu van der Poel, due to injury.
On the third lap, Iserbyt chased down the leaders after a bike change, where Thibau Nys notably grabbed a new shoe and climbed into third position. The course, set at the Sven Nys Cycling Center, brought extra pressure for Thibau to perform well. Despite having ridden the course countless times, he faced all sorts of bad luck with crashes and poor positioning. Nevertheless, he pushed on like a true pro and finished 5th.
But check out how fast he changed his shoe here! Think about when you’re getting ready for a ride, sitting on the steps fastening your shoes—and compare it to this change. The commentator even quipped that McLaren (the F1 team) would be proud of the lightning-fast swap. Sure, the replacement shoe didn’t match but hey, it’s quite the fashion statement.
🚵🇧🇪 | 10 punten voor de schoenwissel van Thibau Nys. Als je knippert mis je het 👀👀 #GPSvenNys
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