Joris Nieuwenhuis has been spared little bad luck this cyclo-cross season. The Dutch champion has been struggling with shingles for a while, is on the road to recovery, and was supposed to return at the Merksplas cyclo-cross race in Belgium this weekend, but that is now not happening after all. This was reported by his team leader Rik Verbrugghe to Belgian outlet Het Nieuwsblad.
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It turns out that the final details are simply not yet in place for Nieuwenhuis, Verbrugghe states. "Joris will postpone his first cyclo-cross race by a week. Over the next ten days, he will focus extra on building his physical condition and refining his cyclo-cross technique." Nieuwenhuis is known for being a rider who can decide the outcome of a race with his smooth technique.
Nevertheless, Ridley is positive about Nieuwenhuis’ progress, who himself recently gave an open-hearted interview about his condition. "Everything is going according to plan and in the right direction. Our goal is to have him perform at his best level around the Christmas period, without putting unnecessary pressure on his comeback."