Thibau Nys had a special Trek helmet made as a mark of respect to his father Sven as the pair marked a special anniversary.
Nys took victory at the opening World Cup of the season in Tábor, almost 10 years to the day that Sven Nys won the last cyclocross World Cup of his career in Koksijde.
Following his father’s example, Nys was commanding on his way to a solo victory in Tábor after going clear on the second lap as his competitors faltered in the icy conditions, before giving his dad a hug after the finish.
“I had a very good day,” said Nys following his victory. “With that beautiful helmet too.
“It was 10 years ago, that dad won his last World Cup. So it all went very fast. To ride the whole cross in this jersey today, with such a helmet. That’s great. I enjoyed it immensely.”
“It’s exactly like seeing myself ride. Although, unfortunately, it was already 15 years ago. I find it quite special. It does affect a person when he once again refers to the past.”
However, Nys will have to wear the World Cup leader’s jersey at the next round in Flamanville next weekend.
The 23-year-old won Gran Premio Miguel Indurain and placed fifth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège after last season’s ‘cross calendar and then completed his maiden Tour de France in the summer.
His coach Paul Van Den Bosch told Sporza that the young Belgian will again target the Spring Classics after an intense winter with 22 ‘cross races planned.
“Thibau, just like last season, has ambitions for the spring,” said Van Den Bosch.
“They are in the back of his mind during every training session he does this winter,”
“That explains, for example, why Thibau trained for five hours on his road bike the day after his second place at the European Cyclo-Cross Championships for a ride of 170 kilometres.
“Thibau himself doesn’t find that difficult, because he is someone who loves to train hard and eagerly.”
Van Den Bosch added that Nys would head for a training camp following next week’s cyclo-cross World Cup round at Flamanville, to also focus on his road preparations.
After the busy Christmas period of ‘cross races Nys will join Lidl-Trek for their January team training camp but will also be preparing for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hulst on February 1.
“We must not lose sight of explosiveness during that camp either,” added Van Den Bosch.
“(Hulst) is a course that requires a lot of explosiveness. So we already know that during that camp with Lidl-Trek we will also need to train a lot on explosiveness.
“But we can only say that Thibau had a great program last year to prepare for the Ardennes classics. And it would be nice if it goes in a somewhat similar direction again.”