U23 cyclocross World Champion Thibau Nys is set to take an extended three-week break from racing this month, with the Belgian saying that he feels like his "battery is completely empty" after two months of competing.
Nys has taken on 11 races so far this 'cross season and he can count three wins to his name, including the UCI World Cup opener in Waterloo. However, he hasn't recorded a win since Koppenbergcross on November 1.
The 21-year-old hasn't made the podium at a race since, and on Sunday faded to his worst UCI World Cup result of the season yet with 19th place at the round in Flamanville.
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Speaking to VTM after the race, Nys said that he had already planned a two-week break from racing, but he'll now extend that so he can recover and prepare for the next part of the season.
"It's still early. I shouldn't make hasty decisions, but I might add a week," he said, according to Het Laatste Nieuws. "Physically it's just really over. I've proven in Boom and in Dublin that I can fight, but physically it's just not possible anymore."
Baloise Trek Lions star Nys, who also won his season opener in Beringen on October 8, finished almost five minutes down on race winner Eli Iserbyt in Flamanville. He said that recent results "haven't been all that bad" but noted that Sunday's race is a sign for him to take an extended break.
"Today I didn't have the legs," he said. "The past few weeks haven't been all that bad - I came sixth in Boom and Dublin but today I felt that the battery is completely empty. It might take a while before it's recharged again.
"I don't think it's something I can solve in one or two weeks," he added. "We shouldn't panic right away. I have to sit down with my coach first. The fact is that I'm almost at a complete standstill. It might still be salvageable but drastic changes will have to happen."
Nys' break from racing sets a possible return date at around Christmastime. Should he return for the Boxing Day World Cup round in Gavere, he'd miss out on World Cup rounds in Val di Sole, Namur, and Antwerp as well as several Exact Cross and X2O Trofee races.
Earlier this season, Nys skipped the third round of the World Cup in Dendermonde, prompting UCI president Davide Lappartient to bring up the idea of preventing riders who skip World Cups from competing in the UCI Cyclocross World Championships.
"The World Cup is not a competition in which you can pick and choose as you please," Lappartient said. "I don't want to stigmatise him because Thibau Nys is a rider that cyclocross needs. But he's not the only one who skips the World Cup. If it doesn't work, then there's definitely things to improve."
Nys was among several riders to respond negatively to the proposition, which wouldn't be put into place this season should it grow beyond an idea.
"I just think I should be able to plan my own program. Everyone has the right to that,” he said. "I'm not concerned with [the UCI's comments] at all. They only break their own windows. If necessary, I won't start at the World Cup."
