Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions) claimed a solo victory in a dominant fashion to win the opening round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Tábor, Czechia on Sunday.
The Belgian champion attacked on the second lap, taking advantage of a mistake by Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley Racing Team) and never looked back. Nys made it look easy in freezing conditions as he powered to the finish with time to spare, crossing the line comfortably and celebrating with raised arms.
“I had a feeling already yesterday during the recon that I could sprint from corner to corner. But then when I watched the races this morning, I thought it was really difficult to get an advantage, but I immediately felt the good legs, and I just went for it,” Nys said.
“When Joris crashed in the second lap, I got a small advantage, and I always had the feeling like I just tried to keep pushing, and when they come back, they come back. And halfway through the race, I felt like, ‘What am I doing, actually?’ Because I didn’t make it easy, but I was in control, and I had the right legs.”
“Also that I was I didn’t really want to come in a situation where you go into the last three or four laps with still 10 guys together, and I felt good, so I just went for it.”
Last year’s overall World Cup winner, Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw), crashed hard on the tarmac with three laps to go and dropped out of the chase group to ultimately finish 17th and out of the points awarded to the top 10 riders.
How it unfolded
The 44-rider field battled freezing conditions, starting the race in bright sunshine at -1°C, with temperatures dropping even further by the…
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