Joris Nieuwenhuis Challenges Belgians in Middelkerke
Niels Bastiaens
A year ago, at the beginning of November, he was down and out; now Joris Nieuwenhuis might be heading to the European Cyclocross Championships in Middelkerke with perhaps the best possible credentials in the peloton. After his victory in Lokeren against all his direct rivals, he certainly had the best dress rehearsal of anyone before the first big event of the cyclocross season.
Actually, last season was supposed to be Nieuwenhuis’ winter of confirmation, but a skin condition – stubborn shingles – forced him to keep postponing his season start. In the end, it wasn’t until mid-January that Nieuwenhuis returned to action at the Dutch Cyclocross Championships in Oisterwijk. Later that winter, Nieuwenhuis still raced ten more cyclocrosses, with wins in Middelkerke and Oostmalle as highlights, but he never reached his best form again.
“After that disrupted season, I was doubly motivated to make something special of it this year. Actually, my cyclocross season already started again in March,” says Nieuwenhuis. “That’s when we began evaluating and planning to ensure I was as well prepared as possible for the cross. Important parts of that plan were running, strength training, and gravel races – all with the winter in mind.”
Not dominant yet, but better
And that is showing now. It’s not that Nieuwenhuis is the dominant force in cyclocross at the moment. But in Heerde and Lokeren, he showed that at least at times he can match anyone.
Nieuwenhuis at work at the start of the season - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
“The difference compared to last year is huge, back then I was just down and out for a whole week,” says the Ridley rider to our camera. “I prepared well, put in all those hours of training – and as always lived for it fully. But suddenly you can’t do anything for months. That’s really tough. However, that also led me to be much more careful with my body now. I think I’m reaping the benefits of that. So that period has brought some positives for me.”
Last Saturday, Nieuwenhuis had no chance in the Koppenbergcross, which brought back negativity in his mind. “It was suddenly a bit worse again, and then you start doubting yourself a little. You see those guys riding away from you. Not by a little, but really by minutes. It was good that I was able to quickly turn that negative spiral around again in Lokeren. There I realized that I’m not bad, I just couldn’t get up that hill,” Nieuwenhuis laughs about the Koppenberg.
Challenging the Belgians
At the European Championships in Middelkerke, it will be a different story again. “A sand race is something else again. I have to say I really trained a lot on sand. On the other hand, I can find very little else about the course. I’ll have to wait and see, but it goes without saying that together with Pim Ronhaar I’ll have to challenge the Belgians. Hopefully, I’m even a bit better than I was in Lokeren.”
That European Championship will be Nieuwenhuis’ first big goal of the winter, but secretly he’s thinking more long-term. “My goals remain the same as last winter: to win a consistency classification and to become number one on the UCI ranking. I thought the X2O Trophy was over after the Koppenberg, but now I’m leading it again. That feels good.” In the UCI ranking, Nieuwenhuis, currently 15th, still has more work ahead, which he can already start on Sunday.
X²O Badkamers Trofee - Rapencross| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01:01:20 | |
| 2 | + 48 | |
| 3 | + 58 | |
| 4 | + 01:03 | |
| 5 | + 01:05 | |
| 6 | + 01:06 | |
| 7 | + 01:23 | |
| 8 | + 01:30 | |
| 9 | + 01:34 | |
| 10 | + 01:37 |
