With his improving form, the Belgian rider is hungry for more in Spain
Thibau Nys secured a hard-fought third place on Stage 10 of the Vuelta a España, delivering a strong performance for Lidl-Trek on a demanding day between Alcaraz and Elche de la Sierra.
The 184.5-kilometre stage provided a challenging test, with almost 3,000 metres of climbing and a tough finale that favoured riders capable of combining climbing strength with a fast finish. After a day of aggressive racing, Nys was part of a reduced peloton fighting for victory in the closing kilometres.
With the help of his Lidl-Trek teammates, Nys positioned himself well as the race entered its decisive phase and showed his resilience on the final climbs. In the sprint for the line, Bastien Tronchon proved the fastest with Magnus Cort finishing second, but Nys followed closely behind to claim third, narrowly edging Wout van Aert for the final place on the podium.
The result marks an encouraging performance for Nys in his Vuelta debut. The 23-year-old arrived at the race with limited road racing under his belt this season following health setbacks, but he has shown his ability to make an impact on the race’s more selective stages.
After a difficult opening week and the first rest day, Nys has now given Lidl-Trek another strong result as the race enters its second phase. With further hilly and medium-mountain stages still to come, the Belgian will have more opportunities to turn Tuesday’s podium into an even bigger result.
Photo: Alexander Hassenstein Getty Images
In Thibau's words
This was one of the days where I had to perform. I really had the legs I wanted to have and I felt so amazing. It was a bit frustrating as I wanted to make the race as hard as possible so the group got smaller towards the finish line.
I was a bit too comfortable on the hilly section and so there were still some fast guys. The team did everything perfectly but I got a bit boxed in on the last corner and I had to sprint already at 550m from the line, which wasn’t bad as I came from behind with a lot of speed but then I made a small mistake at the end with 300m to go and sat down one more time. I tried to get in the slipstream but I should have taken the risk and opportunity to win. That’s a bit disappointing for the moment as I should have taken the momentum to try and win as I had nothing to lose.
As a team, we are trying to optimise our chances. Today we came close but I’m not satisfied yet.
