Thibau Nys wins European Championship to cap another huge Baloise-Trek weekend!

The Baloise-Trek Lions came into one of the biggest weekends in cyclocross racing of the season riding high, and did not disappoint. On Friday, Lars van der Haar won the iconic Koppenbergcross in Oudenaarde, Belgium, with a dominant performance. Then on Sunday, Thibau Nys won the first major Elite cyclocross title of his career, winning the European Champion’s jersey with an audacious ride in Pontevedra, Spain. As a cherry on top, Lucinda Brand took second on the Koppenberg and third at Euros as part of an all-Dutch podium.

Van der Haar’s win on the Koppenberg was the perfect table setter for the weekend. He simply rode away from the competition, attacking while his rivals were taking fresh bikes in the pits on the third-to-last lap and never looking back. He beat second-place Eli Iserbyt by 34 seconds in difficult conditions.

Nys, the 2023 winner, took fourth. The two have now combined to win the last three editions of the historic race. 

“For me, Koppenberg has always been one of the most important races,” Van der Haar said after the race. “I’ve always had the dream to win here in Elite, to have that cobblestone, and now I’ve got two.

“I felt in the race that I had the super day you need to win here. And I used a perfect moment to attack.”

Nys wasn’t sure how he’d perform in Spain after the Koppenberg. He had planned to be in peak form for European Championships, but had struggled to achieve the consistency in his legs that he had hoped for. The fact that he’d be racing Euros with just one day of rest after a difficult, emotional race, while some of his rivals skipped Koppenbergcross to be 100 percent in Spain, didn’t help his confidence.

But the day in Pontevedra unfolded exactly to his liking. The weather was warm and the course was fast, and ultimately Nys superior technicality and closing kick won out. With two laps to go, he went clear with Spaniard Felipe Orts, who electrified the home crowd but had to hop off his bike on the last lap to clear the final barriers. Nys jumped the barriers without slowing his rolling momentum and created the winning gap in the process. 

“When my build up was not going as smooth as I wanted, I thought the European Champs would come a bit too soon,” Nys said. “But in the end it all worked out perfectly. Now I want to win in this jersey.”

Nys is coming off a road season in which he won eight individual stages and a general classification with Lidl-Trek. Still just 21 years old (for a few more days — his birthday is Nov. 12), he’s building an impressive resumé.

“⁠It means a lot to me, it feels special to ride in this nice jersey for the whole year,” Nys said. “I enjoy every day in this life I’m living for the moment, but in the end it’s all about winning those big races.”

Lucinda Brand didn’t get the win she was hoping for this weekend, but two podiums at two of the biggest races of the season showed that she’s a force to be reckoned with, especially when combined with her win in Overijse the weekend before.

A steely veteran and former World Champion, Brand will be battling harder than ever this season to get on the top step. Of course, her competition will have a say; women’s cyclocross has never been more competitive. But there is no rider more determined and well-suited for every race she starts than Brand. 

“I was strong uphill, but today I didn’t have enough flow to put it all together, which is quite important in cyclocross, to not only have the legs but also the technicality,” Brand said after Koppenbergcross. “But still a really good result of course. And I mean, of course the shape is there, and also for coming races it’s good.”

On Sunday, Brand led early on the final lap before falling just behind her compatriots, winner Fem van Empel and second-place Ceylin Alvarado, in a dogfight. She couldn’t snap up her second career Elite European Championship, but it was a special day nonetheless.

“It was a tough but good fight for the jersey,” Brand wrote after the race. “It might seem ‘normal’ to some, but an orange clean sweep will always be special, and I’m proud to be a part of it! 

“Big shoutout to all the Spanish fans out there for creating such a great atmosphere.”