Impressive win for Joris Nieuwenhuis in Merksplas - making it his 10th professional win

Another double cyclocross weekender was on schedule. On Saturday, we went to Merksplas Kolonie for the "Strawberry" cross. On Sunday, Hamme was the place to be for the "Flandrien" cross. Joris was chasing his 10th pro win, meanwhile Felipe was looking for another strong result.

Credits: Photonews

Impressive win after early misfortune

With quite some rain in Belgium over the weekend, we were curious to see how that would affect both courses. In Merksplas, it still turned out to be a pretty fast track with a slippery top layer of mud. It really proved to be slippery as Joris crashed early on in the race. There was no physical damage, but during the fall, a boa had come loose from his shoe. For a moment, he considered changing shoes, but that would have ruined the race completely so he decided to push through. The bad luck wasn't over yet, as in the second lap his chain fell off during a racing incident. Once Joris fixed the chain, he had to restart with a 30-second deficit.

Thankfully, Felipe was well positioned at the front and he could hold the group together a tiny bit as Joris was chasing really hard. In no time, he overtook rider after rider and it was clear that he was one of the strongest riders of the day. By lap 4, he had already caught up with the leading group again. He tried to recover as much as possible from this effort and still kept something up his sleeve for the last two laps. He went to the lead position and just kept powering away and no one was able to follow. Nys made one last attempt, but while Joris flew through the sandpit, Nys got completely stuck. Joris finished steadily and won the cross in Merksplas in impressive fashion.

Felipe notched up his third top 10 result in a row and proves that he is back where he belongs. Joris did a good job for the overall standings as well, as Vanthourenhout didn't have his best day out. Vandeputte overtakes him as the leader in the Superprestige and Joris closes in on third place. The next Superprestige race is in Zolder in over a month's time.

Credits: FL!TZ Productions

Podium in Hamme

The race in Hamme on Sunday was part of the X2O Badkamers Trofee, which Joris is leading after the first two races. Just like on Saturday, the start did not go smoothly this time either. In the first corner, Joris was hit by other riders and fell. He had to restart at the very back of the field and on top of that, his handlebars were bent from the fall. Felipe didn't miss his start and and he took away some crucial bonification seconds from Joris' rivals after one lap.

Joris began his long journey to the front, and once again that went very well. After a few laps, he caught up with Felipe on the start finish straight, where both men demonstrated their excellent relationship. Felipe took the lead and quickly pulled Joris along in his slipstream. Wonderful team spirit!

At the front of the race, Nys and Mason got away from the other riders and also Joris had a hard time chasing them. It became clear that he had hurt his knee in the crash, which did not help his pursuit. It was a battle against van der Haar for the final podium spot, and it was Joris who ultimately prevailed. Excellent damage control after another eventful race.

Felipe battled with Vandeputte, Sweeck and Michels for a nice place of honour and ultimately finished in 7th place. Strong result following the teamwork demonstrated earlier. Joris stays in the lead of GC with 24 seconds ahead of Cameron Mason and 42 seconds ahead of Thibau Nys.

Credits: Photonews

World Cup start

Next week, the World Cup kicks off in Tabor, Czech Republic. Both Joris and Felipe will line up and weather forecasts are showing that it might be a race in the snow. Felipe takes a short breather after Tabor and will skip Flamanville and Cabras. He will return to racing action in Namur.