Ridley Racing Team excited about Nieuwenhuis joining: "Hope he and Orts can support each other in race finales"

The wait is over. Joris Nieuwenhuis is returning to cyclo-cross as part of the newly formed Ridley Racing Team. Felipe Orts has already made a strong impression for the team in the early weeks of the season, and now Nieuwenhuis adds another exciting weapon to their lineup. Naturally, the team expressed its enthusiasm in a press release.

Nieuwenhuis, however, was quick to manage expectations. "I’m happy to finally get back to racing. I’ve worked hard over the past few weeks to regain my form, but I’m still missing race rhythm. On Sunday, we’ll aim for the best result possible, but we also need to be realistic — I’m not at my previous level just yet."

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  Orts has been Ridley’s standout performer so far

Nieuwenhuis is focused on peaking later: "Priorities have shifted"

Nieuwenhuis is taking a long-term view and plans to peak later in the season, which he believes could work in his favor. "The focus has shifted, and now the priority is the Christmas period and the championships," he said, looking ahead to the Dutch National Championships and the World Championships. Last year, he claimed the Dutch title and followed it up with a second-place finish at the Worlds just a few weeks later.

Richard Groenendaal also shared his thoughts on the upcoming races, expressing optimism about how Nieuwenhuis and Orts could work together. "We hoped Felipe would take another step forward in a new environment, and he’s definitely done that — it’s great to see! Joris has had his share of bad luck, but things are improving, and we hope he’ll be back at full strength in the coming weeks. That way, we can have two riders competing in race finales, supporting each other," Groenendaal said.

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