In Belgium, the 22-year-old European champion Thibau Nys rebounded from a stretch of five races in which he failed to finish higher than eighth to take a courageous victory in a slog through mud and snow in Heusden-Zolder. His late attack broke the resistance of Laurens Sweeck, who finished second, 9 seconds behind, and Toon Aerts, who finished 11 seconds adrift.
The rest of the top 10 finishers sounds like a Who’s Who of cyclo-cross stars, with Niels Vandeputte, Emiel Verstrynge, Joran Wyseure, and defending champion Eli Iserbyt finishing in places 4 to 7. It was a particularly disappointing race for Iserbyt who finished 1:15 behind the winner and is having a difficult year while struggling with a bad back. It was also a setback for the current cyclo-cross World Cup leader, Michael Vanthourenhout, who finished ninth at 1:41.
“I tested my legs early in the race and felt good,” Nys said after the race. “Then I really went for it when the rest were on the limit. That was the best strategy.” He went on to say that this victory combined with his European championship make up for the setbacks and disappointments he has endured this season. Nys in action during the elite men race of the Belgian Cyclocross Championships. © Profimedia “My season is a real success now,” Nys said. “But if you have the European and Belgian champion’s jerseys, of course, you want to have more wins as well, to make those jerseys shine even more.”
His winning move […]
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