"I could no longer feel where I was putting my feet" - Niels Vandeputte gets a taste of winter in Merkplas while he climbs onto the podium

Niels Vandeputte stood on the podium of the Superprestige Merkplas on Saturday. The 23-year-old finished third, behind Eli Iserbyt and the untouchable winner Joris Nieuwenhuis. Afterwards, shivering from the cold, he told his story during a quick interview.

"These were very tough conditions," Vandeputte began. "It is the first cold, in combination with the rain. And then there was also a lot of mud on the course. That's why I'm shaking a bit."

Vandeputte rode in second position for a long time, but in the final lap he was still passed by Eli Iserbyt. "It was extremely cold, like I said. I had the feeling that the race was only getting colder. Eventually my legs were so cold that I could no longer feel where I was putting my feet. Then you start making mistakes and you lose the rhythm a bit."

"Unfortunately, this caused Eli to come back in the last half lap. I then gave it everything in the sandbox, but I immediately ended up on the wrong track, which meant I had to get off the bike immediately. Then I knew I just had to try to hold on to third place. It worked. Of course I would have liked to finish second, but I think third place is still not bad."