Baloise Trek Lions boldly challenged Van der Poel, Nys and Ronhaar were amused by Nieuwenhuis: "Did you see him!?"

It seemed for a moment that Baloise Trek Lions had a plan to really challenge Mathieu van der Poel one more time in Zonhoven on Sunday. Joris Nieuwenhuis and Pim Ronhaar boldly took the initiative in the first half of the race, but in the second half, they could only watch as Van der Poel eventually rode away. This outcome was expected, especially after hearing the stories from the main players, as recounted to IDLProCycling.com.

Nieuwenhuis ultimately finished as the best of the rest, securing an impressive second place. When asked by this website if he started so strongly to challenge Van der Poel, Nieuwenhuis shakes his head. "No, honestly not. I just wanted to start really well, to be upfront right away. I saw in the women's race that you could really make a difference at the beginning, so that was my only plan. I wanted to see how I felt afterward and how the race would unfold."

His strategy paid off, turned out later. Nieuwenhuis took the lead from the rest and secured a solid second place finish. There was a fleeting moment of hope when Van der Poel remained in the wheel for the initial four laps. But secretly Nieuwenhuis knew better. "You briefly think maybe he's not at his best today, but you kind of expect him to make a move eventually. And sure enough, he did."

Read more below the photo.

Ronhaar boldly took the lead in the opening stage

Ronhaar can still compete with the best riders, even on a 'bad day'

"You know when Mathieu takes off, it's going to be really fast. But the two of us still kept the pressure up," Ronhaar analyzes in turn. He finished fourth, mainly due to a somewhat weaker middle part of the race. "I actually had a bad day. Right from the start, I felt I didn't have the punch to ride up front and dive into the pit first. I didn't panic, though, because I could maintain a fairly high pace. It was just continuously a bit into the red zone. To still compete for third place in the last round on such a day, I'm quite satisfied with that."

Ronhaar also denies that Baloise Trek Lions had crafted a 'Plan-Van der Poel.' The cyclo-cross talent had enough to deal with on his own. "The cold here in Zonhoven took some getting used to," he refers to the feel-like temperatures of up to -6. "It bothered me a bit, but Joris and I still managed to keep the pace high. I can't be anything but satisfied, especially since I had to let go of a gap midway through the race. I managed to close it, so I'm definitely in good shape."

Continue reading below the photo

Baloise Trek Lions 1 and 3, with Van der Poel in between....

Nys and Ronhaar laugh at Nieuwenhuis' bizarre descents

Overall, there were satisfied faces at Baloise Trek Lions, even ending with a burst of laughter. When Thibau Nys (who finished outside the top five due to two punctures) joined Ronhaar after the finish, the two briefly talked about Nieuwenhuis' descents into the pit. "Did you see Joris!" Ronhaar exclaims. Apparently, Nieuwenhuis went quite hard through the pit, but when confronted with this, he could only laugh. "I honestly didn't realize that at all, haha!"

It must have been the adrenaline, and the lack of fear. Nieuwenhuis also points to Van der Poel's presence. "It was cool, the past ten crosses that he was there. There's more audience, more attention… You just don't race for the win anymore, but for what's behind it. Personally, I got into cyclo-cross because I love the game and the sport, and when a whole pit like that is full of fans, I find it really cool to ride through that area. Even if it's for second place."