“I had the right legs”
In a race marked by hazardous hairpins and a slippery surface, Nys took advantage of one of several crashes among the leaders to open a gap on the second of eight laps, a gap that he never relinquished. The in-form Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley Racing), who was leading a three-rider lead group, with Nys and Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon), went down in a curve, allowing his fellow travellers to ride away. Nys then attacked hard, eventually dropping Verstrynge, and was never threatened again.
He led by 9 seconds at the end of lap 2, by 15 seconds over Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen–Altez Industriebouw) at the end of lap 3 and extended his lead to 43 seconds (over Verstrynge again) entering lap 7, before riding more cautiously to avoid the fate that overtook some of his rivals. Verstrynge lost his seat several times during the race. On one of those incidents, on lap 7, he impeded Nieuwenhuis, which allowed Laurens Sweeck to take over second place, a position he maintained until the end. Last year’s World Cup winner, Vanthourenhout, crashed hard on the slick pavement near the lap 5 finish line and fell out of contention for a place on the podium, eventually finishing 17th.
But Nys rode confidently, even majestically, over the tricky course, and if his final margin of victory was only 8 seconds over Sweeck and 10 seconds over Nieuwenhuis, it was because he slowed down on the final few hundred meters to savour his victory and the dominant manner of his win, which reminded not a few observers of seven-time ‘cross world champion Mathieu van der Poel. The winner understood that the difference was his superiority on the tricky corners.
“I had a feeling already yesterday during the recon that I could sprint from corner to corner,” Nys said. “But then, when I watched the races this morning, I thought it was really difficult to get an advantage, but I immediately felt the good legs, and I just went for it. When Joris crashed in the second lap, I got a small advantage, and I always had the feeling like I just tried to keep pushing, and when they come back, they come back. And halfway through the race, I felt like, ‘What am I doing, actually?’ Because I didn’t make it easy, but I was in control, and I had the right legs.”
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By going solo, Nys avoided the risk of fallen riders holding him up, but that was not the only reason he decided to take off on his own. “I didn’t really want to come in a situation where you go into the last three or four laps with still 10 guys together,” he explained. “And I felt good, so I just went for it.”
The other ride of the day was that of British champion Cameron Mason (Seven Racing), who lost his balance at the start and ended up dead last. He then went in pursuit of the leaders and slowly clawed his way back, eventually finishing ninth, 37 seconds behind Nys.
Brand wears down rivals
Four wins in a row, eight wins and two seconds in ten races this season, 51 podium finishes in succession. That is Brand’s amazing record after her win in Sunday’s Elite Women’s race in Tabor. And if you go back to last season, it’s 11 wins from her last 14 races. Those are Pogačar-like numbers. It’s true that the 36-year-old Dutchwoman has benefited this year from the absence, due to illness, of four-time world champion Fem van Empel, but she still has to beat the other riders, and this time it was not easy.
The first three of six laps were tactical involving primarily Brand, Sara Casasola, Inge van der Heijden (both Crelan-Corendon), Leonie Bentfeld (Pauwels Sauzen–Altez Industriebouw), the surprising Czech club rider Kristyna Zemanová, and Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing). On lap 4, the race settled down to a three-way contest between Brand, Casasola and van der Heijden, with Brand beginning each lap with an attack that put hurt on her rivals’ legs.
On the final lap, it was clear that van der Heijden was scrambling just to hang on, and when crunch time came, she was dropped as Brand and Casasola raced to the finish line. Brand took the lead late in the lap and attacked again with about 300 meters left to ride, as Casasola slipped and lost precious ground. At the finish, the gap was only 1 second, with van der Heijden another 12 seconds back.
“It was difficult to make a difference, and there was a lot of sliding,” Brand said after the race. “We were very evenly matched uphill, so it was difficult to break away. That makes for a tactical race. I knew where to put pressure on the last lap. That was a lesson I learned from our teammate [David Haverdings], who had won earlier in the day [in the U23 race]. I tried to do the same, and I quickly heard that I had created a gap. After a few corners, I saw it too. That was really great, because when you ride to the finish with Sara on your wheel, you can easily get beaten.”
Asked about her continued dominance after win number 76 of her career, she replied, “It just keeps getting crazier.”
Casasola had not raced in two weeks because of illness and said that she was afraid her lungs had not yet recovered. “I had no expectations for today,” she said. “My legs were good and my breathing not so good.” But she breathed well to race to the first World Cup podium of her career. “I’m really happy about it,” she said.
Also happy was fourth-place finisher Bentveld, who won the Women’s U23 race, which was held within the Elite Women’s contest. She crossed the line 25 seconds behind Brand and 7 seconds ahead of 22-year-old home favourite Zemanová.
Top 5 Elite Men – Tabor CX World Cup 2025
1. Thibau Nys, Baloise Glowi Lions 1:03:39
2. Laurens Sweeck, Crelan-Corendon +0:08
3. Joris Nieuwenhuis, Ridley Racing +0:10
4. Jente Michels, Alpecin-Deceuninck +0:12
5. Emiel Verstrynge, Crelan–Corendon +0:27s
6. Ryan Kamp — +28s
Top 5 Elite Women – Tabor CX World Cup 2025
1. Lucinda Brand, Baloise Glowi Lions 45:13
2. Sara Casasola, Crelan-Corendon +0:01
3. Inge van der Heijden,Crelan–Corendon +0:13
4. Leonie Bentveld, Pauwels Sauzen–Altez Industriebouw +0:25
5. Aniek van Alphen, Seven Racing +0:30s
