Joris Nieuwenhuis will be M.I.A. from the cyclocross scene for the time being. He’s dealing with ongoing knee problems following a crash in Antwerp.
The 29-year-old Ridley Racing Team rider confirmed the lousy news on Instagram. Sounds like he will undergo further medical checks before returning to competition.
“Feeling a bit off the past days. My DNF’s are quite rare, and hoped to keep it that way. But ever since my crash in Antwerp I don’t feel the same on the bike. The knee got a big hit and I still feel that with everything I do,” he posted. “After the race we decided to get everything double checked before we start racing again. Keep you posted!”
Time off to recover and heal
He managed to finish 16th that day after the crash and raced on in the days that followed, taking sixth in Hofstade. However, the knee failed to improve. Ultimately he was forced to abandon races in Zolder and Gavere later in the week.
Nieuwenhuis had a solid start to his ‘cross campaign. He took dubs at the Rapencross in Lokeren and the Strawberry Cross in Merksplas last month and currently leads the X2O Badkamers Trophy standings.
The ‘cross season continues
Meanwhile, his fellow competitor Mathieu van der Poel continues to be perfect. Van der Poel took his fifth consecutive win of the season at Friday’s Gavere World Cup. The world champ did face a tough mid-race battle with Thibau Nys. Nys, son of Sven, repeatedly attacked on the climbs. He managed to stay with Van der Poel until small mistakes cost him the lead. Tibor del Grosso took third. Top Canadian Tyler Clark finished 41st.
Racing resumes on Sunday in Dendermonde, Belgium–but not for Nieuwenhuis. Hopefully the Dutchman heals soon and is back in the action–he’s fun to watch as he always does his best to animate the race.A whole bunch of Canadians will race on Sunday. In the junior men’s race: Evan Moore, Emilien Belzile, Farland Lamont, Sagan Goertz (with a first name like that, he was destined to race bikes by the way), Grayson Franks and Thomas Deniger. In the junior women’s race: Elly Moore, Alexa Can Haviland, Claire MacKinnon and Clare Hauber.
In the under-23 men’s race: Rhett Bates, Liam Sargent, Remi Brisebois and Lucas Goertz.
Five Canadians will start in the elite women’s race: Rafaelle Carrier, Nico Knoll, Katja Verkerk, Dorothee Perron and Siobhan Kelly.
In the elite men’s race, Tyler Scott and Cody Clark will line up.
You can catch the elite races on Flobikes.com….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…