{"id":303944,"date":"2025-11-24T15:01:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T15:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/303944\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T15:01:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T15:01:08","slug":"thibau-nyss-awesome-helmet-tribute-to-his-dad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/303944\/","title":{"rendered":"Thibau Nys’s awesome helmet tribute to his dad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thibau Nys didn\u2019t just make waves on the course in T\u00e1bor on Sunday<\/a>\u2014his vivid green helmet caught plenty of eyes, too. The Belgian star, racing with the distinctive headgear for the first time in his cyclocross season, had a heartfelt reason behind the choice: a surprise homage to his father, Sven Nys.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea,\u201d Sven Nys told Sporza<\/a>. \u201cThen suddenly, this week, he came home with a picture of me wearing bright orange glasses and that exact helmet. He had it made in secret. I looked for glasses like those and combined it with the Belgian tricolor. It\u2019s exactly how I used to look on the bike, though it was fifteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sven admits the gesture stirred emotions. \u201cIt\u2019s special. There\u2019s just something about connecting to the past that really hits you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On the course, Thibau backed up the sentimental tribute with performance, powering to a solo win wearing the bright green helmet and orange glasses. He said it was a little \u201cold-school, back to the roots.\u201d But he also said he enjoyed things like that. He also enjoyed, much like his father, dominating the \u2018cross race.<\/p>\n

Thibau Nys at his Instagram:<\/p>\n

Vintage Nys\u2026 \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddea\ud83d\udc9a<\/p>\n

1. Winter Suit
2. Tricolore
3. Bib number 13
4. Green helmet
5. Throttle wide open pic.twitter.com\/wj98f4j8SJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Luk\u00e1\u0161 Ronald Luk\u00e1cs (@lucasaganronald) November 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Nys stormed to victory in the freezing opener of the 2025-2026 UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Tabor, Czechia. He took the lead on Lap 2 and rode solo to the finish. This adds to his two X2O Badkamers Trofee wins this season. Early on, Kevin Kuhn and Lars van der Haar set the pace. Nys quickly distanced a chasing group that included Michael Vanthourenhout, Emiel Verstrynge, and Tijmen Nieuwenhuis. Vanthourenhout and van der Haar both hit trouble late in the race, while the battle for the podium saw Sweeck and Nieuwenhuis scramble for positions behind Nys. In the end, Nys\u2019 dominant ride left him comfortably clear, with Nieuwenhuis taking third and Cameron Jette placing 43rd as the lone Canadian in the field.<\/p>\n

Although the son is definitely an incredible racer, he still has a few things to do to catch up with his father\u2014at least in \u2018cross.<\/p>\n

Sven Nys was a multiple world champion, ten-time national champion, and many-time winner of the UCI World Cup and Superprestige series. He also had to race with a van der Poel in his career\u2014Adri, son of Mathieu. They were both teammates on Rabobank at the end of AdvP\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

Thibau Nys is taking a slightly different trajectory in his pro career, however. Although Papa Nys did race on the road in the summer, it was mostly domestic pro races\u2014\u2018cross was his main focus. Thibau Nys is riding at the WorldTour level and already has several wins\u2014he\u2019s also raced his first Grand Tour, the Tour de France, which was never something in his dad\u2019s sights.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Thibau took his first major stage race win at the Tour de Hongrie. He also took three stages at the Tour du Pologne. This year, he won the one-day race, the Gran Premio Miguel Indurain. At the Tour, he finished down on the G.C.\u2014to be expected for this first go\u2014but had some good rides, including Stage 15, where he was in the break for most of the day and just finished outside the top-10.<\/p>\n