Thibau Nys shouted out in pain after a chaotic crash over the barriers at the UCI World Cup cyclocross in Dublin on Sunday but fortunately sustained “no serious damage” to his ankle.
The European champion was a DNF in the second round of the World Cup following the crash, which saw him among several riders crash into each other while attempting to hurdle the barriers.
Nys fell while bunny-hopping the last of the barriers and was hit from behind by French rider David Menut. He shouted out in pain and held his ankle but managed to get back up and continued to race on. He ended race prematurely after five laps.
Speaking on Monday, Nys’ father Sven said the 22-year-old will still head to Lidl-Trek’s training camp with a swollen ankle after Menut accidentally stepped on it.
“Thibau will fly from Dublin to Calpe to join the Lidl-Trek team training camp there. His ankle is swollen, but there is no serious damage that would prevent him from cycling or training.” He told Het Nieuwsblad via Belga.
“Thibau had to brake hard in Dublin because Michael Boros had fallen on the barriers in front of him and was in the way. The blow from behind from the other rider was worse. He hit his back at full speed and hit his ankle.”
Thibau Nys gave his own account of the crash, which brought an end to a disappointing run of races, to VTM Nieuws later.
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He won two races in November – at the European Championships on November 3 and at the X2O Trofee in Lokeren on November 10. However, recent results have amounted to fourth at Superprestige Merksplas, 14th at X2O Trofee Hamme, 12th at the UCI World Cup in Antwerp, and now a DNF in Dublin.
“The race was over after a few minutes. They fell on the barriers in front of me and I was able to avoid it quite well,” Nys said.
“But then someone came and rode right over my ankle, just as I was lying there. At first, I couldn’t put any more force on it.
“After riding a lap, I got back through it a little bit, but I never really had any more power. I tried to turn it into a training ride, but it got worse and worse. I was able to ride with it for a while, so I don’t think it’s really something serious. But this is a big disappointment. I would have liked to end this period with a good ‘cross.”
Time at the Lidl-Trek training camp means Nys will miss the next round of the UCI World Cup in Sardinia on Sunday December 8. H i’s scheduled to return to action on December 15 at the fourth round of the series Namur.
“That will remain the case until further notice. As planned, there is now the training camp with his road team,” Sven Nys said.
“Thibau will continue to combine the road and the cyclocross. We will maintain the regime of one cyclocross per weekend, especially since he will also be in action on the road early.
“His team will communicate about his road programme later. It’s a pity that the race in Dublin was over so early, but all in all the injury is not too bad and Thibau can start in Spain on the team training camp. That is the positive.”