Thibau Nys crashes twice and still wins the Koppenbergcross, as Lucinda Brand defends her title
In his first cyclocross race of the season, the Belgian champion came back from about half a minute down to beat Michael Vanthourenhout on the last climb. Brand won the women’s race alone by 53 seconds.
Thibau Nys won the Koppenbergcross near Oudenaarde, Belgium, on 1 November despite crashing twice, catching Michael Vanthourenhout on the final lap and beating him up the last ascent of the cobbled Koppenberg.
It was the Belgian champion’s first cyclocross race of the season and his third win on the Koppenberg, after 2023 and 2025. Lucinda Brand, his teammate at Baloise Verzekeringen–Het Poetsbureau Lions, won the women’s race alone to keep the title she took a year earlier.
The race was the opening round of the X2O Badkamers Trophy, one of cyclocross’s main season-long series.
Two crashes, two bent handlebars
Nys started as the clear favourite, but his race went wrong early. According to IDLProcycling, Victor Van de Putte fell after a risky move on the outside of the course, slid into the barriers and brought Nys down with him. Nys straightened his handlebars and set off again, but Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen–Altez Industriebouw) had already attacked, and Nys was about half a minute behind.
He chased with Gerben Kuypers, Vanthourenhout’s teammate, and had cut the gap to seven seconds when he crashed again. With his handlebars twisted a second time, he stopped at the pit and started the next ascent of the Koppenberg 16 seconds down. Kuypers, IDLProcycling reported, had waited for him.
Nys dropped Kuypers and was 12 seconds behind with two laps to go. He caught Vanthourenhout on the final lap, and the two went up the Koppenberg side by side for the win. Nys went past on the climb, CyclingUpToDate reported, and finished in 1 hour 1 minute 31 seconds, with Vanthourenhout second at seven seconds.
Kuypers was third at 42 seconds. Pim Ronhaar, who had also crashed, was fourth and Britain’s Cameron Mason fifth.
Brand rides away on lap four
The women’s race, over six laps, was decided by one acceleration. Marie Schreiber of Luxembourg set the early pace for SD Worx–Protime, while Brand waited. Italy’s Sara Casasola, also starting her season, stayed with the leaders for three laps.
Brand attacked on the fourth lap. Schreiber could not follow, and Casasola lost contact when Brand pushed again. Brand was 11 seconds clear at the top of the Koppenberg after four laps and kept extending her lead to the finish, which she reached in 53 minutes 29 seconds.
Casasola finished second, 53 seconds behind, and Schreiber third at 1:22. France’s Hélène Clauzel was fourth and Amandine Fouquenet fifth. Fem van Empel moved up from 22nd to sixth in the first three laps and finished eighth, IDLProcycling reported.
A race built around one climb
The Koppenberg is best known from the Tour of Flanders, where its narrow, steep cobbles are among the most feared sections of the race. In the cyclocross race the climb is part of every lap, so small gaps are visible on each ascent, and races are often decided there.
For the Lions team, the day continued a strong start to the winter: a year earlier, Nys and Brand had also won both elite races on the Koppenberg.
