Following Thibau Nys' victory in the European Cyclocross Championships at the weekend, former double cyclocross world champion Niels Albert has said that he could one day reach the same level as Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.
The win was 21-year-old Nys' first at an elite major championship and comes a week after taking his first win of the 2024-25 cyclocross season at the Superprestige Overijse.
The road season just gone, his second in the WorldTour with Lidl-Trek, has also seen Nys rack up nine wins, including five stages across the Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse and Tour de Pologne.
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Writing in his column for Het Laatste Nieuws, Albert looked back on the European Championships, noting that Nys' victory "wasn't a huge surprise" and acknowledging his major progress on the road during the 2024 season.
"Once again, the way he controlled the race appealed to me. Just like in Overijse, he was economical and controlled and constantly keeping an overview. Then he struck beautifully and mercilessly at the right moment.
"Does this herald a new phase in his development as a cyclocross rider? I wouldn't dare push it that far," Albert continued. "Okay, he won a Championship, but it wasn't a huge surprise. His biggest progress came last summer with those nine wins on the road, more than half of which came in the WorldTour."
Albert, who won the cyclocross world title in 2009 and 2012 before being forced to retire early due to heart problems in 2014, outlined what "crossing a new threshold" in racing would mean for Nys – matching 'the big two'.
"Crossing a new threshold in cyclocross would mean riding to the finish tomorrow with Wout van Aert and/or Mathieu van der Poel and beating him in the sprint," Albert wrote.
"We're not going to place him at that level. Again: not yet, because, turn it or twist it however you want – at a certain point he will go in that direction. I am not talking about equalling, let alone surpassing. But certainly 'getting close to'.
"If Mathieu and Wout appear somewhere at the start now and one of them wins, we say, 'Well, who else?' With his big engine and technical and tactical capabilities, I can see us doing the same with Thibau sooner or later.
"It's simple: the power and the power that he develops on the road also makes him grow further in cyclocross. None of the assembled competition could dream of that for even a second."
For his part, Nys said that he's hoping to "ride a consistent season" following his title victory, even if he doesn't expect to stand on top of the podium every week, as the likes of Van der Poel and Van Aert would.
"I enjoy riding at a high level in this jersey, I hope I can continue to do so. I recovered very well from the Koppenbergcross. I had a fantastic day here and I just hope to continue that line," he told Sporza.
"It won't be to win every week, but once 2nd, 3rd or win... That's what I do it for. The fans give what they come for, offer spectacle and ride a consistent season."
