Who won World Cup Tábor:
Thibau Nys won the season opener in Tábor, Czechia on a fast, frozen circuit, turning a lap‑2 off‑camber slip by Joris Nieuwenhuis into a long, controlled solo. He pulled clear over the long false‑flat and man‑made ramps, banked the leader’s jersey, and set the early World Cup tone.
Elite Men Results
Tábor - Tábor • Nov 23
| Pos | Rider | NATNationality | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Thibau NYS | BEL | 1:03:39 |
| 🥈 | Laurens SWEECK | BEL | +0:08 |
| 🥉 | Joris NIEUWENHUIS | NED | +0:10 |
| 4 | Jente MICHELS | BEL | +0:12 |
| 5 | Emiel VERSTRYNGE | BEL | +0:27 |
| 6 | Ryan KAMP | NED | +0:28 |
| 7 | Lars VAN DER HAAR | NED | +0:35 |
| 8 | Toon AERTS | BEL | +0:37 |
| 9 | Cameron MASON | GBR | +0:37 |
| 10 | Niels VANDEPUTTE | BEL | +0:41 |
| 11 | Kevin KUHN | SUI | +0:47 |
| 12 | Andrew STROHMEYER | USA | +0:50 |
| 13 | Pim RONHAAR | NED | +1:04 |
| 14 | Toon VANDEBOSCH | BEL | +1:28 |
| 15 | Felipe ORTS LLORET | ESP | +1:40 |
| 16 | Mees HENDRIKX | NED | +1:49 |
| 17 | Michael VANTHOURENHOUT | BEL | +1:54 |
| 18 | Michael BOROŠ | CZE | +1:55 |
| 19 | Witse MEEUSSEN | BEL | +2:13 |
| 20 | Nathan BOMMENEL | FRA | +2:16 |
| 21 | Danny VAN LIEROP | NED | +2:31 |
| 22 | Joran WYSEURE | BEL | +2:39 |
| 23 | Victor VAN DE PUTTE | BEL | +2:47 |
| 24 | Rémi LELANDAIS | FRA | +2:49 |
| 25 | Bailey GROENENDAAL | DEN | +3:05 |
| 26 | Marek KONWA | POL | +3:07 |
| 27 | Jakub ŘÍMAN | CZE | +3:07 |
| 28 | Valentin REMONDET | FRA | +3:11 |
| 29 | Lorenzo MARASCO | FRA | +3:22 |
| 30 | Fabian EDER | GER | +3:23 |
| 31 | Matyáš FIALA | CZE | +3:29 |
| 32 | Federico CEOLIN | ITA | +3:35 |
| 33 | Théo THOMAS | FRA | +4:07 |
| 34 | Pavel JINDŘICH | CZE | +4:16 |
| 35 | Lars SOMMER | SUI | +4:51 |
| 36 | Kevin SUAREZ FERNANDEZ | ESP | +6:04 |
| 37 | Lennart LEIN | GER | +6:22 |
| 38 | Florian HAMM | GER | +6:38 |
| 39 | Louis SPARFEL | FRA | +6:48 |
| 40 | Ben FREDERICK | USA | +6:56 |
| 41 | Karl-Erik ROSENDAHL | DEN | +7:05 |
| 42 | Philipp HEIGL | AUT | +7:30 |
| 43 | Cameron JETTE | CAN | - |
| 44 | Matteo OBERTEICHER | GER | - |
| 45 | Robin RAUTZENBERG | GER | - |
| 46 | Dries BRUYNSEELS | SVK | - |
| 47 | Frederick JUNGE | USA | - |
Who shone
- Thibau Nys — Ruthless capitalisation on the lap‑2 error, then disciplined pacing on the false‑flat and clean barrier execution to defend a gap without overreaching.
- Laurens Sweeck — Picked his moments in the chase, tidy lines on slick cambers, and a late, measured acceleration to lock in second from a splintering group.
- Joris Nieuwenhuis — Recovered from the early slide with steady, high‑tempo laps, managed the technicals under pressure, and limited losses to secure the podium.
Who misfired
- Michael Vanthourenhout — Crashed on the lap‑5 finishing straight, lost the chase draft, and never rejoined contention, slumping to 17th after early podium presence.
- Emiel Verstrynge — In podium range until a penultimate‑lap fall; the slip ceded momentum and positions, leaving him to settle for fifth on the day.
- Cameron Mason — An early puncture forced a reset; despite a strong rebound to ninth, the incident cost track position when the race split.
Team of the day: Baloise‑Glowi Lions — Win plus depth (7th, 13th) let them dictate tempo and mark every chase, insulating Nys’s solo.
Tactical timeline
- Lap 1: Kuhn holeshot; Nys and Nieuwenhuis formed the early selection.
- Lap 2: Nieuwenhuis slid on icy off‑camber; Nys launched and split the race.
- Lap 5: Vanthourenhout crashed on the finish straight; chase reshuffled.
- Lap 7: Verstrynge fell; Sweeck committed and prised open the gap for second.
Stats that mattered
- Race duration: 1:03:39 (official clock)
- Laps: 8 on a ~3.3 km loop (organiser specs)
- Winning margin: 8 s (gap peaked at ~40 s mid‑race)
What it means
- Nys starts in leader’s colors, and the Lions have the depth to control early rounds.
- Sweeck and Nieuwenhuis leave with form confirmed but urgent homework on lap‑1/2 positioning.
- With more cold rounds likely, clean first‑lap execution and error‑free cambers will decide the next podiums.
Cover image credit: Javier Martínez de la Puente/Zubiko/ SWpix.com
