Thibau Nys crashes out of contention, breaks handlebars in mid-race crash during icy Zonhoven World Cup

The technical, challenging cyclo-cross course at Zonhoven is one of the toughest on the calendar, even without the addition of snow and ice.

This weekend, plenty of riders have found out just how much more difficult the race can be in those conditions, with Belgian champion Thibau Nys among those falling victim to the slippery ground.

“On a section where the speed was really high, it was just ice. I couldn’t correct it anymore. When I crashed and assessed the damage, I felt I was fine. But of course, that crash ruined my entire race. I was just getting going and riding well,” Nys told Sporza.

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Nys was at the head of the chase, 19 seconds down on world champion Mathieu van der Poel, on the fourth lap of Sunday’s race, and leading the charge in trying to close the gap on the leader.

Up front, Van der Poel had battled through front and rear punctures, but held on to the lead halfway through the eight-lap race.

Nys, who lay second in the UCI World Cup standings at the start of the day, was turning on the pace behind. However, he lost control of his bike as he did so, slipping on the icy surface and falling over the barriers at the side of the course.

To add to his misfortune, the 23-year-old snapped his handlebars in the fall, with the right-hand drops completely breaking away from the rest of the bar.

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Nys was quick to get back up and racing, but he had some way to go before reaching the pits, falling way down the standings.

As he crossed the finish line, Nys had dropped to 1:03 down in 11th place, but, having been forced to run down the famous Kuil sandpit, he’d only fall further back.

Over four minutes after his crash, Nys finally reached the pits and got a bike change, but he was well out of contention for any top placings at the race’s conclusion, lying over two minutes down.

He finished the race in 19th place at 3:22 down.