{"id":287618,"date":"2025-11-16T05:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T05:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/287618\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T05:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T05:06:08","slug":"joris-nieuwenhuis-details-dramatic-superprestige-success-in-merksplas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/287618\/","title":{"rendered":"Joris Nieuwenhuis details dramatic Superprestige success in Merksplas"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nNieuwenhuis\u2019 troubles began early. A crash in the second lap damaged the fastening on his shoe, leaving him unsure whether to stop<\/a>. \u201cIt happened already in the second lap,\u201d he said. \u201cI hesitated about changing my shoe, but then I\u2019m sure it\u2019s over. Actually, it still went quite well with that shoe.\u201dThat alone would have been enough to derail most riders, but further misfortune followed. While navigating deep ruts alongside Emiel Verstrynge<\/a>, the two collided \u2014 triggering a far more serious setback.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were those ruts, and Emiel made a mistake. He went too far to the right and I ran into him, which caused the bike to take a hit and the chain flew off,\u201d Nieuwenhuis revealed. \u201cI thought \u2018not again\u2019, but I also thought: I\u2019ll see where I end up, and that was more than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dropped to around twenty seconds down and briefly out of rhythm, his chances seemed to evaporate. Yet the moment he remounted and settled back into tempo, he sensed the race was still within reach.<\/p>\n

From misfortune to mastery<\/p>\n

Bit by bit, Nieuwenhuis reeled in the leaders. Once he bridged across, the momentum swung sharply. Others began to make mistakes in the sand, while he navigated the course with increasing clarity and control.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realised quite quickly that I felt great and I noticed that others were making a lot of mistakes, and that I was getting through it fairly easily,\u201d he said. \u201cI put on pressure for half a lap to see what it would do. After that I rode very well through the sandpit and I had a small gap. Then I just kept going.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, the pattern of the race changed completely. What had been a tight six-rider group shattered as Nieuwenhuis\u2019 pace in the technical zones and sand sections proved unmatched. By the final lap he was cresting the climbs with a clear view of victory, while the battle behind unfolded between Niels Vandeputte and Emiel Verstrynge for the remaining podium places.<\/p>\n

Nieuwenhuis held his line, avoided further drama, and took a commanding win \u2014 made all the more impressive by the adversity he had to absorb to get there.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n