The Dutchman from Trek-Baloise secures his first career World Cup victory with a flawless run on the treacherous snow of Vermiglio, leading from the first turn to the finish line. Vandeputte confirms his second place from 2022, third place goes to the surprising Wyseure, ahead of Vanthourenhout and Iserbyt
With a name and appearance that could have placed him among the Dutch painters of the Golden Age, with his long dark beard, Joris Nieuwenhuis indeed created his masterpiece on two wheels. On Sunday, December 10, in Vermiglio, on the World Cup Cyclocross track in Val di Sole, he painted his first career victory in the major series.
For the 27-year-old Trek-Baloise rider, today's palette held only the white of Vermiglio's snow, still fresh but decidedly faster and more compact after the women's race. His greatest achievement was maintaining unwavering focus, riding a nearly impeccable race from start to finish of the seven laps on the 2.9 km track. His strokes were firm and decisive, softer and more delicate only where the track was most treacherous.
Nieuwenhuis wasted no time: he slipped ahead at the first turn and from there, no one could dislodge him, initially followed closely by Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck), especially in the first lap, and then in an unstoppable solo performance until the apotheosis in front of the Vermiglio crowd.
“I know my style on the bike looks like I'm always pedaling effortlessly, but I assure you it was not like that today. The hardest thing was to keep my concentration high from the beginning to the end; I knew I had the chance to aim high, I had a great feeling on the bike and that was very important today. I used to race in BMX as a boy, I think that experience gave me something extra to tackle a track like this."
Vandeputte confirmed his second place from 2022, finishing 1:01 behind the winner. The third spot went to surprising Joran Wyseure, a Belgian born in 2001 from Crelan-Corendon, who showed all his enthusiasm to the Vermiglio audience for a career-best of great value.
Just off the podium were two of the most anticipated protagonists. Fourth place went to Michael Vanthourenhout, the 2022 winner, who got caught in the pack in the first, chaotic stages of the race, but admitted at the end, “today I didn’t have the legs to win, fourth place is the best I could aim for.” Right behind him was Eli Iserbyt, who confirmed his lead in the World Cup standings, followed by another Belgian, Laurens Sweeck. The best of the Italians was Federico Ceolin in eighteenth place.
