Thibau Nys immediately makes his European star jersey sparkle with a strong solo effort in Lokeren

One has grown wings. New European champion Thibau Nys fluttered to a dominant victory in Lokeren, the second round of the X2O Trophy. Four rounds from the end, the man from the Baloise-Trek Lions started his sovereign solo. Eli Iserbyt was killed by a fall and bad luck just over halfway through the race and could no longer play a significant role.

“A trail for Eli Iserbyt.” This is how Thibau Nys described the lap of the 2nd round of the X2O Trophy in Lokeren.

Eli Iserbyt showed that the newly crowned European champion told no lies and immediately went for it. But in the 2nd round Nys made a clever move and Lars van der Haar left a gap. Iserbyt had to give full chase and grabbed Nys again by the scruff of the neck.

When halfway through the race Iserbyt and Sweeck had a small gap on Nys, the Belgian champion fell and had material trouble. It would put the match in a final position.

Nys and Sweeck set out together, but the European champion quickly left Sweeck on the spot and flew to victory.

Behind the unapproachable Nys, teammates Niels Vandeputte and Jente Michels fought for the podium places, because Sweeck seemed to have gone badly into the red. With the rankings in mind, Iserbyt would still give everything and somewhat limited the damage to Nys and Van der Haar. He came in 5th at 28″.

“It was great,” Thibau Nys said afterwards. “In the second lap I got some space, but I still had to make some room. I think it was wise not to immediately push the gas full throttle and to let myself slide along with the other men.”

“Because of Eli’s fall, it was the moment to open the throttle completely, at that moment I felt that there was a little more rhythm in my technique and also in my legs, that they loosened up a bit. Then I had to continue. It was a matter of continuing to sprint up the climbs at full speed and not making any mistakes.”

“I had to keep concentrating. I was only confident when I rode down the last time, I also had difficulty getting into my pedals and my back started to tire.”

“But it was beautiful. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Every victory is important for me, not just because it is the first time in this jersey. It always means a lot. This is why we train and go to sleep so early and we eat what we have to eat. That’s why we sacrifice everything, it’s great.”

Niels Vandeputte (2nd): “I was well at the start, but the pace was immediately very high. I think Eli wanted to go for the bonus seconds. But I was able to maintain myself quite well at the front, then led for half a lap. Then the leading group became slightly bigger and I made a mistake myself, which gave Nys and Sweeck a gap. I lost some places, but I was still able to move up and go for the podium with Jente.

Girl Michels (3rd): “This is very rewarding. The European title among the promises last week was nice, but a podium among the elite is a step higher. It went very well. I felt strong from the start and was able to move up a bit every round. I know the course here well, so I knew it would be a grueling race. I took it easy after my European title, because we are still early in the season.”

Lars van der Haar (4th): “I didn’t feel fit enough for the win. Although it wasn’t bad at all, I saw opportunities to give Thibau something. The first time it might have been a bit too early, but the second time with Sweeck I did it again “I’m doing a good job for the rankings, but I still wanted to be on the podium.”

Result X²O Trophy Lokeren