A man in a hurry: Tour de France debutant Thibau Nys eyes four stages in first week as potential opportunities for wins

Thibau Nys may be making his first ever start in the Tour de France a week Saturday, but the Lidl-Trek racer has no intention of wasting any time regardless.

Rather, the 22-year-old Belgian has already identified no fewer than four occasions in the first seven days as "good chances" to go for the win.

The talented uphill finisher is already on the mend after illness knocked him out of the Baloise Belgium Tour over the weekend, his coach Paul van den Bosch told local media.

Although Van den Bosch recognised the illness was a setback, he said there was only a slight possibility that the need to make up for the time loss with extra training might affect Nys' performance in the Belgian National Championships. In any case, with underlying form "good," the Belgian racer was well on track for the Tour de France start in Lille on Saturday July 4.

Nys himself had felt very optimistic about his chances of success, sitting down with Het Laatste Nieuws reporter Joeri De Knop during the Baloise Tour and identifying four different opportunities between stages 1 and 7 of the Tour de France.

"It's relative, of course, but the thought process is the right one," Nys told De Knop.

"Stages 2 [Boulogne-sur-Mer], 4 [Rouen], 6 [Vire-Normandie] and 7 [Mûr-de-Bretagne], eh? They are all good chances.

"That's on paper, though, because it [the actual opportunity] depends on so many factors. How is the race going? Will a breakaway stick? How do I feel...?"

Globally, Nys said his Tour de France objectives were that "I don't want to disappoint myself and especially not the team.

"Apart from my form and a possible stage win, I am curious about the answer to the question: 'Can I maintain myself at the highest level?'"

In the same HLN interview, Nys brushed aside any speculation about how compatible his aims would be with teammate Jonathan Milan and the Italian's sprint goals. Given Milan's relative lack of aptitude even on climbs as short as the Mûr-de-Bretagne, Nys reasoned, as well as Nys' own lack of skill in sprinting in any circumstances, there should be no direct conflict.

This lack of speed in bunch gallops also meant the green jersey was ruled out, while in the second half of the race, Nys said his main goal would be helping the team's GC challenger, Mattias Skjelmose – also coming into top form after illness, as witnessed by the Dane's recent victory in the Andorra Clàssica.

Nys agreed with his teammates Jasper Stuyven and Edward Theuns' analysis that his positioning skills – or lack of practice at them – could make him vulnerable. Previously Nys' innate talent had enabled him to gain placings in the bunch during many other World Tour races without even trying. But in the Tour, where every front spot is coveted far more deeply, that was not going to be possible.

"I still lack that experience," Nys told HLN. "In Liège-Bastogne-Liège, if necessary, I rode fast on the La Redoute or on the Rosier and voila I was where I need to be. But if that doesn't happen in the Tour…

"Being able to call on guys like Jasper and Eddy for that is a blessing. In terms of racing insight, tactics and positioning, they are among the very, very best riders in the world.

"Apart from that, I've already been scared and warned by everyone about what it's going to be like..." he ended with a laugh.

Positioning can be improved or worked on, but the key element for Nys' Tour debut will be his underlying form. That, his trainer Van den Bosch said, is good, with all the planned training complete, too: "That illness is far from ideal, but I wouldn't call it a setback," he added.

Lessons learned for the future

However, when the progress towards the Tour has slowed for whatever, Nys is more than willing to bypass conventional wisdom and stick to his own path. When it comes to altitude training, for example, he told HLN that he would "never" do it again, because no matter the plus sides, the negatives were greater, at least in his case.

"I will continue to sleep in the altitude tent. But I know for certain – just let me do my thing for three weeks at sea level in the sun in Spain and I will perform. Always," he said.

"The quality I lose [when altitude training] outweighs the gain and I can't handle that mentally anymore. So I'd rather not do it."

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