Joris Nieuwenhuis first career World Cup win came in spectacular fashion
Joris Nieuwenhuis is now a World Cup winner. You can count him among five Baloise-Trek riders who have won World Cup races this year, joining Thibau Nys, Lars van der Haar, Pim Ronhaar and Lucinda Brand.
And his win came in emphatic fashion. Nieuwenhuis led the race from start to finish, steadily powering his way through a snow-covered course in Val di Sole and adding time between himself and his rivals. He finished 1:01 ahead of second-place Niels Vandeputte.
While other riders visibly struggled on the soft, slick surface, Nieuwenhuis thrived. The snow seemed perfectly suited to his particular combination of power and skill.
“It’s super specific to race on snow,” Nieuwenhuis said after the race. “The weird thing is that all the riders had a different tire choice. Niels rode on pure slicks, while I was riding on the mud tire.
“I guess the reason it suits me is that I was raised racing BMX. It teaches you how to control your bike. Those skills you learn at a young age, you will never lose. Also I have been doing a lot of practice on how to focus during a race. I try to be as stoic as I can be.”
Nieuwenhuis has now won three races in his last five starts. His recent success kicked off with a Superprestige win in Merksplas last month. The wins have validated his preseason decision to focus full-time on cyclocross racing, after he split his time with road racing for much of his career. The 27-year-old is enjoying his time racing on dirt, mud, grass, sand and snow.
“It has felt refreshing for me to focus fully on cyclocross,” Nieuwenhuis said after his win in Merksplas. “It requires a different lifestyle compared to WorldTour racing. I feel more freedom in the decisions we make — us being the team, my trainer Paul and me. Besides that, I set my own difficult, but realistic, goals. As a domestique in the WorldTour, you never know which races you will end up racing.”
Nieuwenhuis appears to be peaking at just the right time. Cyclocross’ notorious “Kerstperiode” — a densely-packed racing period that stretches over Christmas and New Year’s — is just around the corner. Nieuwenhuis expects to be one of Baloise-Trek’s busiest riders this holiday season.
READ MORE: Trek riders explain how they survive the Kerstperiode gauntlet
“I will do a lot of racing during the Christmas period,” Nieuwenhuis said. “I’m curious how it will be when Mathieu [van der Poel], Wout [van Aert] and Tom [Pidcock] are there. The crowds will be crazy. I’m looking forward to that.”
No matter what happens, Nieuwenhuis is fully embracing the adventure. He has settled in as a cyclocross rider; the 27-year-old’s transition to a new discipline now more or less complete. And with his first career World Cup win in hand, Nieuwenhuis should be one of the most exciting riders to watch as the second half of the season unfolds.
“Winning helps a lot,” Nieuwenhuis said. “It gives you some peace of mind that the things you are doing are working for you. So you don’t have to doubt the small things and you can just focus on the racing.”
More photos from Val di Sole, courtesy Belga Images: