In Round 1 of the Super Prestige Cyclocross series, the Baloise Trek Lions paid attention to the wind and crashed out of contention for a race win on the final lap after overshooting the corner.

The Nys risked everything for the win as they divebombed the interior of the final race winner Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), but came in at too much speed and lost the front wheel and with that, the race rolled in for the fourth.

The Belgians were chasing most of the race on lap 2 after a camera off crash lost about 20 positions on lap 8. The race culminated in Nys vs Iserbyt on the final lap after the former caught, but Iserbyt avoided coming down with Nys and teammate Michael Vananthourenhout put him on the line

"I actually wanted to pass 1 bend early, but Eli[Iserbyt] got the door firmly in." I kept it closed. Then it was all on its descent," Nys said shortly after the race.

"I was picking the perfect line on every lap, but it was really dark in the woods and I couldn't see much through my glasses. I thought I'd throw it inside, and uh...I took too much risk.

Nys's father, Cyclocross legend Sven Nys, highlighted the highs and lows of off-road discipline, hitting the air as his son took the lead, and disappointment came with Nys Junior missing out on his triple victory in 2023 thanks to the crash milliseconds ago.

Not bad for Nys at the finish, he was happy to show his comeback from the back of the pack and how mature he is at just 20 years old, well above the typical timeline of a cross-rider under 23.

"When I came back, I actually had already won my race," Nys said, "I'm very happy with that. I didn't expect to be this good today either. I felt really sick during reconnaissance.

"On the second lap, my pedal got stuck behind the pole and I was thrown out putting me back around 25 places. I was then able to pick everyone up one by one at a perfect pace and go back to the front.

"The fact that I was able to win the race is the most important thing for me. I enjoyed myself."

Nys is a star in a variety of fields and is already a junior and U23 level Cyclocross World champion. He also took his first elite-level World Cup win in the opener at Waterloo earlier this month after an impressive road season.

The professional win at the Tour of Norway and Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau was his first win on the road with Lidl・Trek and was 2nd on the world stage and is also a highlight of the tour level Tour de Romandi 2023.

Sven Nys had made it clear that his son does not want to weigh in on the multidisciplinary stars of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (jumbo-Visma), but the 20-year-old struggles to avoid comparisons given his talent in cross and road bikes.

Van der Poel and Van Art won the Elite Men's Cyclocross World Cup before the age of 21 by the Nys after their victory at Waterloo, alongside most of road cycling's most prestigious races, winning the CX World Title among them.

Nys should headline most of the men's cyclocross races for the rest of the 2023/24 season, but he will probably not face Van Aert, Van der Poel or the other member of the discipline "Big Three", Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).