For the first time in a long time, Sven Nys has dominated a cross weekend with two victories in the GP Hasselt and the World Cup in Koksijde. His coach Paul Van den Bosch "expects that Nys can keep this level for a long time."

Paul Van den Bosch knew Sven Nys was able to achieve great things. "I've always said that his condition was very good. His performance was more determined by the value of his opponents and by the weather," he tells Sporza.

"I knew that Sven would be a lot better if he had his conditons, a real cross circuit with murd and harder (colder) weather. Then you know that he will be there.

"The opposition has not become any worse but Sven is a lot better. We now have completely different races than when we have 20 degrees on fast circuits."

Did his personal situation (a new girlfriend) have an influence? "It's difficult for me to say anything about that but I can see that Sven excels and has a very good mentality.

"Sven feels good, physically and mentally. We enjoy our training group and it probably also plays a role that his life is in balance."

Nys is in his final year and his coach Paul Van den Bosch does not expect that the previous weekend will be an exceptional peak.

"In his life, Sven has done many seasons without having any bad periods. But last year things started to go worse so we can now expect an upward trend.

"I strongly believe that if we can keep this good momentum and not force the training too much, Sven will be able to continue to ride at this level for a long time. And I hope that it will last until the championships.

"Sven has three very important events. He wants to say a proper goodbye to his fans at his own Grand Prix in Baal. And then there's the Belgian Championships and the Worlds. A tenth national title or a third world title would add even more to his brilliant career. "

"I am also pleased that Sven included me when he thanked people. It's beautiful when a sportsman in euphoria still thinks of the people around him that support him everywhere.

"I'm not the only one, of course, a lot of people are important for Sven. Anyway, we have a wonderful partnership that has already lasted 13-14 years. We have been a major part of each other's lives. This goes beyond the sport. We have a fantastic coach-athlete relationship. "