Joris Nieuwenhuis finally gets to debut this winter at the Dutch championships: "With the same goal as last year, but with different expectations"
Cyclocross
It's taken way longer than initially thought, but the time has arrived for Joris Nieuwenhuis to finally make a cyclcross debut this winter. The 28-year-old will return at the National Championships this weekend to try and defend the Dutch tricolor which he didn't get any chances to wear in the 2024/25 season.
"The past three months have not been the easiest months," the leader of the Ridley formation kicks off his story on Instagram. "Where I started with the ambition to equal last season, I have not started a single race so far. This was of course not the first setback in my career (and not the last). But this time it was different. Something very intangible. My body was completely out of whack for a while."
Nieuwenhuis turned out to have shingles. "This gave me a helpless feeling that I didn't know from other injuries. There was no protocol that we could follow. Ultimately, the recipe was to rest even more. So when everyone started the season, I was on the bench for three weeks. Every day I felt my condition decreasing more and more until there was little left. It made me feel insecure."
"Once I was a bit further along in this process, I was better able to accept it. Instead of asking myself: 'Will I still get to my level?' I asked myself: 'How do I get back to my level?' And that is what we have been working on in recent weeks. Together with Ridley, we have slowly started to fill this in," says Nieuwenhuis.
Frequent consultations with coach Richard Groenendaal were essential in keeping clear head for Nieuwenhuis. "Every day we evaluate how things are going and what steps we can take. Last week we decided to start again next weekend. At the National Championships, where I was able to put on that beautiful jersey last year."
What can we expect from the returning Nieuwenhuis? "The goal: from start to finish as quickly as possible. The same goal as last year, but with different expectations. After that, I will finish the season and then start the gravel season!"
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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