Thibau Nys wins his first World Cup in Waterloo

Thibau Nys, (Baloise-Trek Lions) put on a masterclass in technique to win the Waterloo Cyclo-Cross World Cup ahead of Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal) and Pim Ronhaar (Baloise-Trek Lions).

Nys used his whole bag of tricks to get the advantage of his big rival, Eli Iserbyt, who rode a near flawless race, with his only blip being a strange shoe change on the third lap which made the initial gap between Nys and Iserbyt.

While Iserbyt gave it his best to regain the lead of the race, Nys was just too smooth and too good on the most challenging obstacles to take his first ever World Cup win.

“It's unbelievable, the way I won it is something I will never forget," Nys said after the finish. “Here in the US at the headquarters of Trek, riding solo to the line. It's one of my best days on the bike, for sure.”

“I made a big step this summer and I was already so proud to show it  last week but I didn’t expect to be here again. I knew I was in great shape but to ride so dominant is incredible.”

Beyond the top three, who were far and away the strongest on the day, the top five was rounded out by Joris Nieuwenhuis in fourth, and a fast charging Lars van der Haar in fifth. Andrew Strohmeyer was the top American with a strong 12th place finish.

How it happened

Thibau Nys, Eli Iserbyt and Pim Ronhaar were able to pull away through the first lap and form a strong leading group. They were able to continue to extend their lead as Nys and Ronhaar traded turns.

On the third lap, the two Baloise-Trek riders continued to put Iserbyt under pressure, which caused an unseen mechanical on the course. Later in the lap, Iserbyt was seen gesturing to his mechanics and signalling an issue that needed fixing. The next opportunity the Belgian had to stop in the pits saw him pull his shoe off and quickly get a replacement before rejoining the race before the chasers behind him. By the end of the third lap, Iserbyt was 15 seconds down on the two Trek teammates out front.

Nevertheless, even though Nys and Ronhaar are teammates, Nys put on a show on the fourth lap. Wth Nys looking over his shoulder and pushing the pace throughout each of the course's elements, there was clearly an inter-team battle brewing as neither of the young riders had won a World Cup in their career.

Nys was first through the fifth lap, with Ronhaar in second, six seconds down. Iserbyt had been putting together a strong comeback and was only 13 seconds behind Nys, with still three full laps to race.

Nevertheless, Nys proved on lap five of seven that his technique was unmatched on this course. In particular, his ability to ride up the off camber and incredibly steep “100% hill” when no other rider could gave him two to three seconds every lap. Even with Iserbyt clawing his way back to Ronhaar’s wheel and chasing hard, the gap to Nys stayed at around 13 seconds.

In the final laps it was more of the same as Nys was smoother through the technical sections, while Iserbyt seemed stronger on the powerful moments, as Iserbyt distanced Ronhaar.

Like the women’s race before, the final lap was more of the same as Nys managed any potential mistakes and started celebrating over the final fly-over, with Iserbyt and Ronhaar following him home.