For the first time in his career, Joris Nieuwenhuis can call himself the winner of an elite UCI World Cup race after a dominant performance in the Val di Sole snow.
Despite the relative ease of his victory, crossing the line over a minute ahead of second-placed Niels Vandeputte, the Baloise - Trek Lions rider denies it was quite as simple as it may have looked to viewers on the TV.
"My style is that it always seems easier on television than it actually is," Nieuwenhuis laughed to begin his post-race interview. "But I also have to suffer. I had to stay focused because my form is good. And today I also felt good on the bike."
Leading right from the first corner, the 27-year-old Dutchman believes his past experiences in BMX did him the world of good in the snow. "I used to do a lot of BMX. That helped me stay calm today," he assesses. "So I had the technique to ride this race."
Personal best World Cup results in Val di Sole. 2x 🏆and 1x 🥉 1 🇳🇱 J. Nieuwenhuis (was 3rd) 3 🇧🇪 J. Wyseure (was 4th) 1 🇳🇱 M. Bakker (was 3rd) 4 🇨🇿 K. Zemanova (was 6th) 5 🇨🇦 S. McGill (was 8th) 6 🇮🇹 V. Corvi (was 17th) 7 🇮🇹 F. Baroni (was 14th) 10 🇨🇿 K. Hladikova (was 15th)
