Food poisoning can't dampen spirits for overjoyed Vermeersch: "Became nauseous on the couch"

Gianni Vermeersch managed to claim second place in the Exact Cross in Loenhout on Friday. The Alpecin-Deceuninck Belgian stood on the podium alongside team leader Mathieu van der Poel, which he was obviously happy about. That is certainly no wonder when you know what the man has been through in the days prior. He explains everything in an interview with IDLProCycling.com.

Vermeersch missed Wednesday's cyclo-cross race in Heusden-Zolder due to illness, but just over two days later, he was on the podium in Loenhout. That is what you call a quick recovery. "It's strange, but I think it was food poisoning," laughed the affable Belgian. "I think I ate something wrong at lunch because I was watching Gavere from the couch and suddenly I became nauseous. Vomiting and all that, you know the drill..."

"I had a fever for half a day, so I was really quite unwell," he said. "Luckily, it was short-lived and I quickly felt better. I tried to get enough carbohydrates in through liquid drinks, so that worked out well enough."

But still, racing again so soon after being sick, doesn't that mean you start off a bit scared? Vermeersch nods in agreement. "Yes, definitely. I was quite nervous. On the bus Christoph and Mathieu even said: you're so nervous," he laughs afterwards. "Then I also had a bad start because I was kind of caught behind that crash. However, I was able to move up fairly easily and quickly regained my confidence and good feeling,' says the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider.

Vermeersch trained too much on gravel bike heading into previous cyclo-cross winter

"That feeling from the past races was there again, so I'm happy to be on the podium here," Vermeersch summarizes. "I think this is really unexpected. I had hoped for a top five finish, I would have been really satisfied with that. The podium is really beyond expectations, although the foundation is of course solid. We had a very good training camp with the team and I already knew from tests that my baseline form was better than last year."

"And then I also did a bit more cyclo-cross specific training than last year," continues the Belgian, who as world champion in gravel perhaps trained a bit too much on his gravel bike. "Where I'm from, you can ride very hard in the dunes, but I noticed that it was really different from the cyclo-cross tires. Last year I was very technical, but in the cyclo-cross, I couldn't manage a turn. That was quite a big difference."

In the perhaps less crowded cyclo-cross of Loenhout, despite his good preparation, Vermeersch certainly didn't have an easy ride. He fought a fierce duel, down to the very last meters, with Felipe Orts and Ryan Kamp. "Felipe is always strong in those slog races, and he had an advantage with his jumps over the barriers. Ryan also had a very good day. So, I was quite stressed, but in the final lap, I gave it my all. At that point, I felt that I could put them under pressure."