Thibau Nys is kicking himself after a missed opportunity against Van der Poel: "I'd mock him mercilessly"

Thibau Nys seemed on the verge of achieving what no one else had managed all season, but just as the prospect of beating Mathieu van der Poel began to seem real, a slip in a corner dashed all his hopes. Speaking to HLN afterwards, Nys candidly expressed his frustration with himself.

"If someone had given up the podium like that, I would mock him mercilessly. And now I've done it myself. I feel so incredibly stupid," Nys said about his crash in a slippery, muddy corner. It wasn't a bad fall, and Nys was quickly back on his bike, but the tiny gap he had on Van der Poel was gone. The world champion won in Hoogerheide, while Nys didn't even finish on the podium, coming in fourth.

"If I had been a bit closer, I might have been able to respond to that one attack from Van der Poel. Even then, I wouldn't have won, but at least I would have made the podium," Nys honestly reflected on his battle with Van der Poel. Being overtaken by Joris Nieuwenhuis, Pim Ronhaar, and Eli Iserbyt after his fall hurt even more. "This is one of the biggest disappointments of my season. I am very angry with myself for missing the podium."

Thibau Nys doesn't count on battling with Van der Poel at the World Championships

"It looked really good for a long time. Yet, I still lost it due to my own fault," analyzes the young Belgian from Baloise Trek Lions further. "The feeling in my legs doesn't lie, I was really very strong. Physically, it was the best race of my season. But the difference between a podium finish and this is huge. I felt like I was the second-best in the race. With today's legs, I have a shot at silver in the World Championships, but not with the form I had two weeks ago. I just hope to continue this trend and finish my season on a high note."