Thibau Nys (17) and Mathieu van der Poel have gone head-to-head in a unique cyclocross challenge race, with the teenager getting the better of the Dutch star.
Nys is the son of cyclocross legend Sven Nys and last season he won the Belgian cyclocross title as well as the European and world titles.
Van der Poel is the reigning elite world and European champion in cyclocross and last year also won the Amstel Gold Classic as well as Dwars door Vlaanderen and Brabantse Pijl, among other road wins, despite focusing on MTB for much of last year.
The established leading pro rider faced off against the emerging young Belgian star Nys in the ‘Battle of Balenberg’ cyclocross event in Baal, Belgium.
The race was run over three legs and involved a 400-metre technical time trial, a ride up a sand climb and a longer cyclocross individual TT.
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Nys (AA Drink Jongeren Team) won all three races to win the overall title from van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix); taking a valuable scalp in the process.
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Laurens Sweeck (Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal) was 3rd, with Toon Aerts (Telenet–Baloise Lions) 4th and Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal) placing 5th.
In the women’s race, Annemarie Worst (777) claimed victory from junior world champion Shirin van Anrooij (Telenet-Baloise Lions) and Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal).
The three-race event took place last week though TV footage (below) has only just been broadcast in Belgium.
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