Joris Nieuwenhuis won a stage of the Cyclocross World Cup for the first time. He secured an impressive victory in the snow cross of Val di Sole. The 27-year-old cyclist from Baloise Trek Lions took the lead in the first turn and was never caught. Niels Vandeputte managed to follow him for a while but saw Nieuwenhuis pulling away more and more, finishing in second place.
Iserbyt followed as the number three, more than half a minute behind. He led a small group of about nine riders, including Laurens Sweeck, Michael Vanthourenhout, and Toon Vandebosch. However, they couldn’t prevent Nieuwenhuis and Vandeputte from pulling away further. The gap between the two fluctuated between 10 and 15 seconds for a long time.
Dispute for the third position
And so, Nieuwenhuis managed to secure his fourth victory of this season. Previously, he was the strongest in the challenging races of Merksplas and Boom, but he had never won among the elite in the World Cup. A significant debut for Nieuwenhuis, who is truly advancing to the highest level in the discipline.
The second place went to a strong Vandeputte, who was clearly the best among the other cyclists. There was a tight competition for the third place in Val di Sole. Joran Wyseure surprisingly knew the course and was able to take advantage of it. At one point, he got close to Vandeputte but had to settle for the last spot on the podium. Far behind, Vanthourenhout, Iserbyt, and Sweeck completed the top 6.
Final Classification of the Val di Sole World Cup 2023
