Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions) won World Cup round eight in Dendermonde with a perfectly timed sprint, beating Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin–Deceuninck) and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan–Corendon) after an hour of racing that looked nothing like Dendermonde’s usual mud slog. Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) had to settle for sixth.
Elite Men Results
Dendermonde • Dec 28
| Pos | Rider | NATNationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Thibau NYS | BEL | 1:01:29 |
| 🥈 | Tibor DEL GROSSO | NED | +0:02 |
| 🥉 | Laurens SWEECK | BEL | +0:05 |
| 4 | Emiel VERSTRYNGE | BEL | +0:06 |
| 5 | Niels VANDEPUTTE | BEL | +0:08 |
| 6 | Wout VAN AERT | BEL | +0:08 |
| 7 | Michael VANTHOURENHOUT | BEL | +0:12 |
| 8 | Felipe ORTS LLORET | ESP | +0:15 |
| 9 | Mees HENDRIKX | NED | +0:25 |
| 10 | Toon AERTS | BEL | +0:34 |
| 11 | Jente MICHELS | BEL | +0:37 |
| 12 | Joran WYSEURE | BEL | +0:46 |
| 13 | Kevin KUHN | SUI | +0:53 |
| 14 | Ryan KAMP | NED | +1:05 |
| 15 | Martin GROSLAMBERT | FRA | +1:09 |
| 16 | Gerben KUYPERS | BEL | +1:30 |
| 17 | Lars VAN DER HAAR | NED | +1:37 |
| 18 | David MENUT | FRA | +1:46 |
| 19 | Rémi LELANDAIS | FRA | +2:00 |
| 20 | Cameron MASON | GBR | +2:04 |
| 21 | Gonzalo INGUANZO MACHO | ESP | +2:09 |
| 22 | Toon VANDEBOSCH | BEL | +2:10 |
| 23 | Nathan BOMMENEL | FRA | +2:11 |
| 24 | Mario JUNQUERA SAN MILLAN | ESP | +2:12 |
| 25 | Danny VAN LIEROP | NED | +2:15 |
| 26 | Timothé GABRIEL | FRA | +2:46 |
| 27 | Bailey GROENENDAAL | DEN | +2:54 |
| 28 | Tyler CLARK | CAN | +3:03 |
| 29 | Jules VAN KEMPEN | USA | +3:15 |
| 30 | Thomas MEIN | GBR | +3:23 |
| 31 | Filippo AGOSTINACCHIO | ITA | +3:49 |
| 32 | Pim RONHAAR | NED | +3:52 |
| 33 | Dylan ZAKRAJSEK | USA | +4:09 |
| 34 | Lars SOMMER | SUI | +4:19 |
| 35 | Loïc BETTENDORFF | LUX | +4:33 |
| 36 | Hijiri ODA | JPN | - |
| 37 | Michael BOROŠ | CZE | - |
| 38 | Luca HARTER | GER | - |
| 39 | Karl-Erik ROSENDAHL | DEN | - |
| 40 | Nicolas BARD | SUI | - |
| 41 | David RISBERG | SWE | - |
| 42 | Jacob TURNER | NZL | - |
| 43 | Jonas KÖPSEL | GER | - |
| 44 | Cody SCOTT | CAN | - |
| 45 | Philipp HEIGL | AUT | - |
| 46 | Patrick FRANK | USA | - |
| 47 | Marcos GOMEZ VEGA | ESP | - |
| 48 | Tito VICINI | ITA | - |
| 49 | Frederick JUNGE | USA | - |
| 50 | Yuta OKAYAMA | JPN | - |
| 51 | Dovydas LUKŠAS | LTU | - |
| 52 | Tetsuki KAJI | JPN | - |
Nys turns Dendermonde into a sprint race
Instead of axle‑deep clay, riders got a "kurkdroog" hard‑pack and a flying average speed around 30.5 km/h. That flipped the script: no long running drags, no early power separation, just a big front group and constant repositioning.
Nys spent almost the entire race in the top five, closing Felipe Orts' early move around lap 3–4, then marking every acceleration from Michael Vanthourenhout and Del Grosso. He clocked the fastest lap around mid‑race (5:01), but didn't attack until the final lap.
When the bell rang, Sweeck led a front group of seven with Nys locked in second or third wheel. On the last lap, Nys barged past Emiel Verstrynge in a decisive "sledgehammer" pass to get onto Del Grosso's wheel, then attacked Sweeck around the outside on a short rise before the second pit.
That move gained him a bike length into the final slow section, exactly where passing was almost impossible. From there he defended the lead, exiting the last corner first and powering the tailwind sprint to the line.
Punctures, pressure and the final lap
Wout van Aert's pre‑race assessment that the track had "too few natural obstacles" and would be "down to the details" proved prophetic.
Losing time in the slow corners, he repeatedly lost half a bike length and had to burn matches closing gaps.
From lap 7 Van Aert went to the front and drove several five‑minute laps around 5:00, finally splitting the early 20‑rider peloton to a select group of ten. But a slip on the flyover and a tactical sit‑up on the finish straight before the bell saw him shuffled back; he never regained control and had to settle for sixth behind Verstrynge and Niels Vandeputte.
Del Grosso's ride was huge: a puncture with three laps to go forced a bike change and chase, yet he still came back to contest the win. Orts' long mid‑race solo, in conditions he relishes, was the spark that finally broke the bunch and set up the decisive finale.
Stakes and takeaways
Nys adds another World Cup win to earlier Tabor and Flamanville successes, while Sweeck's late surge to third keeps him deeply embedded in the overall fight. With Van der Poel absent and Van Aert still winless this winter, the balance of power in the series tilts further toward the young cross specialists.
Cover image credit: Javier Martínez de la Puente/Zubiko Photography/SWPix.com (2024)
