Joris Nieuwenhuis hoped to limit the damage but falls behind even more in Loenhout at X2O Trofee

Whether Joris Nieuwenhuis was happy after the Loenhout cross. The Dutchman started with considerable doubts and mainly hoped to limit the damage in the fight for the overall victory in the X2O Badkamers Trofee, but Nieuwenhuis fought his way to a podium finish and – more importantly – extended his lead in the general classification.

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 knee problems sustained in a crash at the Antwerp World Cup. Since then, the Ridley team leader has been struggling with physical setbacks, but he still decided to start in Loenhout.

Nieuwenhuis did this to defend his leader’s position in the X2O Trofee. The 29-year-old rider ultimately succeeded with flying colors. "Fortunately, I had a good feeling today. I fell on my knee in Antwerp, but recently I was actually bothered by my back. It kept locking up because of the impact on my knee, but today it was simply good," he said afterward in an interview with Sporza.

"A tough period? Not really, because I knew there was really something wrong that we just had to investigate. I wasn’t just a little bit off in the previous races. It simply wasn’t working. We’ve now found the cause and can move on."

With a bigger lead headed to Baal
"My goal today was to limit the damage, but I even managed to extend my lead in the standings. I’m starting the next X2O race in Baal with an even larger margin. This definitely gives confidence for the coming weeks," he said, sounding very hopeful.