Newly-crowned under-23 Cyclocross World Champion Thibau Nys is preparing himself for a year of stage races to find himself as a road rider.
Last season the 21-year-old won the five-day Flèche du Sud stage race in the Netherlands and has a road season filled with short multi-day races for this season.
Finishing his cyclocross season immediately after being crowned world champion in his age category, Nys will have to wait until next season to wear his rainbow bands in the field. The young Belgian became a stagiaire with Trek-Segafredo last summer and is now preparing for a road season of developing and finding himself as a road rider.
"I'll take a small break, one and half weeks and then I will prepare for the road season which is filled with shorter stage races, one week, nothing too special some higher level, some World Tour and some lower level, but all in function of the next coming years," said Nys.
"I want to try and grow, develop and get stronger as a rider. Everything in its time step by step."
The former European U23 road champion will start his road campaign with two Classics, starting with Nokere Koerse on March 13 and then GP Denain the following day.
The youngster will then compete in stage races for the remainder of the season, the most prestigious on his provisional calendar being the Tour of Romandie in April. Other stage races the young Belgian is set to compete in are the Tour of Norway, the Baloise Belgium Tour and the Tour of Wallonie.
"We still need to see which type of rider I will develop," Nys added. "Will I be a one-week stage racer, a puncheur or a sprinter? It's still a bit unsure. Will I become a Classics rider? It's something we need to see this season. I'll have a nice time and step by step we'll start to grow.
"[Nokere Koerse is] one of the only two Classics I do, then it's all filled with stage races. I will try to help the team the best as possible. I don't want to come into them races to try and win them or to be the leader of the pack.
"I just want to help the team, pull for the boys and get stronger in the next few years. Romandie is something where I will learn a lot to try and get stronger."
Nys is set to follow the likes of Mathieu Van der Poel, Wout Van Aert and Tom Pidcock in combining a road racing and cyclocross calendar.
"For the moment both, I will see what comes on my part in the next few years," Nys added. "I don't have a favourite. I will try and combine both as long as possible."
Nys' father Sven was a two-time elite cyclocross world champion during a legendary career which saw him win 253 races. After seeing his father miss out on the 'cross world title on multiple occasions with seven further Worlds podiums, Nys knows how difficult winning the elite title is going to be.
"That would be the ultimate dream, it would be the most difficult one," Nys added. "I have this one now and I will enjoy it."
Nys was the favourite for the U23 Worlds title in Hoogerheide on Saturday, ramping up the pressure on the youngster. He was pushed all the way by Dutch rider Tibor Del Grosso and Belgian compatriots Witse Meeussen and Joran Wyseure.
Nys' gap over the three chasers fluctuated throughout with the Belgian eventually celebrating his victory in the final stages sitting up and his winning margin reduced to four seconds.
"It was kind of a yo-yo effect in my mind," Nys added after celebrating the victory with father Sven and friends who had made the short trip over to the Netherlands from Belgium. "I felt I had control but the gap switched from 25 seconds to five seconds, to 15, to 20 so it was kind of difficult to get the right feeling in my head.
"I always kept the pressure high with something in mind that if they came to me and closed the gap I still had a big acceleration for the last lap. I just tried to ride my own pace and keep the pressure high, and I guess it worked out.
"In the last lap, it was like an immense amount of pressure falling off my shoulders, it's the best feeling ever to win in an atmosphere and course like this. I controlled the whole race so to finish off such a long solo I could only dream of it. It's perfect."
