Nelissen took over 50 professional wins in his career, including a stage of the 1993 Tour de France and the Omloop Het Volk in 1993 and 1994, in addition to two national road race championships.

He was involved in a crash at the end of stage 1 of the 1994 Tour de France, when he collided with a policeman.

The incident also involved French rider Laurent Jalabert.

Nelissen retired in 1998 due to a knee injury that he suffered in 1996 after falling during the Gent–Wevelgem race.

This biographical article related to a Belgian cyclist born in the 1970s is a stub.