Joris Nieuwenhuis had to abandon the World Cup race in Gavere on Friday due to knee problems. He then wrote on Instagram that he would first 'double-check everything' before returning to cyclocross racing. A break in the season, then? No, the Dutchman clarifies in a new post.
“I haven’t been feeling very fit the past few days," Nieuwenhuis wrote Friday after his withdrawal from the Gavere race. "My DNFs are quite rare and I hoped to keep it that way. But since my crash in Antwerp, I haven’t felt the same on the bike. My knee took a hard hit and I still feel it in everything I do. After the race, we decided to double-check everything before I start racing again. I’ll keep you updated!”
Now Nieuwenhuis offers 'a small correction' in his story on Instagram. “The season is not on hold. It’s mainly a matter of seeing how the body responds in the coming days. Depending on that, we’ll decide which races I will compete in.”
Two withdrawals
Before his crash, Nieuwenhuis was having an excellent season with wins in Merksplas, the Rapencross in Lokeren, and Heerde. However, in his last two races in Heusden-Zolder and Gavere, he had to abandon due to the aforementioned knee issues.
In the X2O Badkamers Trofee, he still leads with a 43-second advantage. It is still unclear when he will return to action.
