Thibau Nys took the win in the 10th round of the 2024-2025 UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Benidorm, Spain, on a very dry and fast course. Nys, who is both the European and Belgian champion, beat pre-race favourite, Wout van Aert, who struggled to reach the podium. He did so with an attack that was reminiscent of Mathieu van der Poel’s launch in 2024 on the same climb.
The race began with Niels Vandeputte taking the hole shot, followed closely by hometown favourite Filipe Orts. Van Aert had to move up from a less-than-ideal spot on the start grid, due his lack of racing this season.
On Lap 2, Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout led, with Van Aert making steady progress to 12th. By Lap 4, Nys surged to the front, while Iserbyt had a near-crash—but managed to stay in contention.
Watch Mathieu van der Poel’s absolutely masterful ride through the sand at Benidorm
Lap 5 saw Aerts’ World Cup hopes fade as he dropped to 17th, with Vanthourenhout continuing to lead the chase group. By Lap 6, the lead pack thinned further, with Van der Haar and Iserbyt creating a gap.
On the penultimate lap, Van Aert worked hard to close in, and by the final lap, Iserbyt took charge, but Nys powered ahead, holding off a late challenge from Van Aert. Van der Haar finished third, giving Baloise Lions a good day at the races.
As far as Van Aert, this was his second last ‘cross race. His cyclocross campaign comes to an end at the Maasmechelen, Belgium World Cup on Jan. 25. There will be no world championships for the Visma – Lease a Bike rider as he will be focusing on training for the Classics.
Although van der Poel skipped another race due to a nagging injury. Nys definitely gave us a reminder of the world champion’s winning move a year ago. Check out the attacks side by side below.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…