Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions) scored a solo win at the ninth round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Benidorm, converting a final lap acceleration into his fifth victory of the 2024-25 season.
It was the last lap of eight which proved the most decisive of the race, with the majority of the hour-long contest seeing a large group of favourites battling at the front. Nys and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines) moved clear midway through the lap before Nys launched, leaving his countryman behind.
Iserbyt would eventually lead the chase and salvage second place at three seconds down, while the podium was rounded out by Lars van der Haar (Baloise Glowi Lions) ahead of Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) and World Cup leader Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines).
"Everything is falling together in the right pieces. It was wonderful, the right legs a the right moment," Nys said after the race.
"I think Wout missed his start completely because he had to start quite far back. Thee pace never really dropped completely in the front group, so that made it really hard for him to come back and I think we really profited from that in the final.
"Everyone knows you need to go up the last climb at full gas. It's an effort that suits me really good and when I'm in the right place on a course like this then, yes, I can finish it off."
It was Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who led the way at the very start, heading to the front with home favourite, Spanish champion Felipe Orts (Ridley Racing), in second wheel.
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The Spaniard took over midway through the lap while behind him lay a string of favourites, led by Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines pairing Iserbyt an Vanthourenhout. Further back, towards the backend of the top 20, Van Aert was working his way through the field from his lower starting slot.
There was no separation at the front heading into lap two, with Iserbyt leading Orts on the front and the biggest names strung out in single file behind as the top 20 packed into 10 seconds of separation. Van Aert was up to 11th by the end of the lap, with the big moves still yet to come during the eight-lap race.
Lap three did bring some separation among the leaders, with the top 12 going clear by the end of the third lap. Iserbyt, Orts and Vanthourenhout led the way ahead of Vandeputte, Van Aert, European and Belgian champion Nys, Baloise Glowi Lions duo Van der Haar and Pim Ronhaaar, Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP), Swiss champion Kevin Kuhn (Charles Liégeois Roastery) and French champion Clément Venturini (Arkéa-B&B Hotels).
The Pauwels Sauzen pairing retained control on the front on lap four, while at the rear Aerts and Kuhn would drop away. Van Aert, meanwhile, lurked in seventh position. At the halfway mark heading into lap five, the situation remained static, though small gaps opened to Van Aert, Vandeputte and Venturini at the rear of the 10-man selection.
Lap five brought little change in the situation as Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout kept the pace up. It wasn't high enough, however as the group swelled in the early stages of lap six. Around 15 riders were up there, including Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon), who moved up to lead the way partway through the lap.
40 minutes in and nearing the end of lap six, Van der Haar hit the front, taking Iserbyt with him as the pair jumped away at the front. The pair built up a lead of seven seconds to start the penultimate lap as first Vandeputte and then Van Aert took up the chase ahead of a slimmed-down chase group which also included Nys, Vanthourenhout, Orts, and Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley Racing).
The seven-second lead evaporated once Van Aert started chasing, with the Belgian bringing the group across before Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout wrested control at the front once again. The eight leaders hit the final lap with Iserbyt on the front and Nieuwenhuis hanging at the rear as the likes of Venturini and Verstrynge lurked a handful of seconds further back.
Iserbyt and Nys pushed on at the front in a mid-lap bid for victory, spurring Van Aert into action in the chase with Van der Haar and Vanthourenhout behind. The lead duo pulled out a small gap heading into the final big ramp, while just after that obstacle it was Nys who put in a stinging acceleration to push past Iserbyt and lead solo.
Behind Nys, Iserbyt took up the chase, but Nys' move proved to be unmatchable. The Belgian kept on the pressure in the latter stages of the final lap, ensuring that none of the select group behind could get back on to contest a closing sprint.
Nys could enjoy a solo victory, showing his form two weeks ahead of the World Championships, while Iserbyt and Van der Haar led the chase group home. Home fans could celebrate a sixth place for Orts, who crossed the line 12 seconds down.
Vanthourenhout continued in the World Cup lead heading into the final two rounds of the 2024-25 season. He lies on 231 points to second-placed Toon Aerts' 198. Iserbyt is in third place on 169 points, while Wyseure is fourth on 162.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, Tro-Bro Léon, and cycling's fourth Grand Tour, the Volta a Portugal.
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