Dutch double: Nieuwenhuis leads the race from the first corner, Bakker prevails in a comeback over Alvarado. Sacco (Val di Sole Director): “We are focusing on cyclocross, we want to continue and grow further”.
Source: VITESSE press release
In the world of sport there are some events that are not very similar to their peers, which, despite belonging to the same discipline, differ profoundly due to technical or environmental characteristics. Just think of the Monaco GP in Formula 1, or two road cycling classics such as Paris-Roubaix or Strade Bianche: days in which the rules of the game change, and in which the sport opens up to structures of different values. Days in which sport still knows how to amaze, and be amazed.
In three editions, Val di Sole has demonstrated that it can be this for the world of cyclocross: a race that can excite not only for the unique context of its kind, for having brought the discipline to the highest levels in an alpine environment for the first time, but for his ability to always pull surprises and unpredictable developments out of the hat. It was in Val di Sole that, in 2021, Fem Van Empel mocked Marianne Vos for her first success (of many, now) in the World Cup, and in 2022 Mathieu van Der Poel, as favourite, let himself be surprised by the Vermiglio snow .
On Sunday 10 December 2023, Val di Sole remained faithful to this premise, delivering two new names to the list of athletes capable of winning a World Cup event. Two races, two winners and two different stories, one for men and one for women. On the one hand the monologue of Joris Nieuwenhuis, the Dutchman who was also a good professional on the road before dedicating himself 100% to cyclocross, and capable of taming the snow by keeping his head from the first to the last corner; on the other, Manon Bakker, who until now had only achieved one other podium in the World Cup, precisely in Vermiglio in 2022, and who in Val di Sole has definitively understood that in front of her, with the strongest, she too can fight .
Freshly whitewashed, with five centimeters of snow fallen in the night before the race, Vermiglio offered itself for the third time to the cyclocross public in all its charm, with its characteristic atmosphere and the passion of a valley which, for some time now, , she really doesn't know how to live without cycling, and is already counting the days that separate her from the next edition of the Mountain Bike World Cup, scheduled for 13 to 16 June 2024.
NIEUWENHUIS RELEASES A MASTERPIECE: VAL DI SOLE IS HIS
With that name and that appearance, his long dark beard, Joris Nieuwenhuis could have been a Dutch painter of the golden age, the seventeenth century. Certainly, the Oranje athlete painted his masterpiece, on two wheels, in Vermiglio, on the Cyclocross World Cup track which in Val di Sole gave him the first career victory in the top series.
On the palette of the 27 year old from Baloise Trek Lions today there was only the white of the Vermiglio snow, still fresh but decidedly faster and more beaten after the women's race: his greatest merit was never losing concentration, leading an almost flawless race from start to finish over the seven laps of the 2,9km track. Firm and decisive brushstrokes, gentler and more delicate only where the path was more insidious.
Nieuwenhuis wasted no time: he got ahead of everyone in the first corner and from there no one was able to move him, followed first at a short distance by Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceunick), especially in the first lap, and then in an unstoppable solo until the apotheosis in front of the Vermiglio audience.
“I know my cycling style makes it seem like I always ride smoothly, but I guarantee that wasn't the case. The most difficult thing was keeping my concentration high from start to finish, I knew I had the chance to aim high, I had excellent sensations on the bike and this was very important today. As a boy I raced BMX, I think that experience gave me something more to tackle a route like this.”
“In previous years,” continued Nieuwenhuis, “I hadn't managed to include this event in the calendar, but on television I was captivated by it: it's a race that knows how to overturn predictions, in which you have to be both technical and powerful. I believe that this event is perfect for my characteristics, and I hope to return here next year and compete with all the biggest names in this discipline, because this event really deserves it."
Vandeputte confirmed his 2022 second place, arriving at the finish line 1:01 behind the winner. Third place, surprisingly, for Joran Wyseure, a Belgian born in 2001 from Crelan-Corendon, who showed all his enthusiasm to the Vermiglio public for a career best of great value.
Two of the most anticipated protagonists arrived at the foot of the podium. Fourth place for Michael Vanthourenhout, the 2022 winner, who got caught up in the group in the chaotic early stages of the race, but who at the end admitted "today I didn't have the legs to win, fourth place is the best I could aim for." Immediately behind him came Eli Iserbyt, who confirmed himself as leader of the World Cup ranking, with another Belgian, Laurens Sweeck, in his wake. Eighteenth and best of the Italians was Federico Ceolin from Veneto.
MEN'S ELITE RANKING
| 1 |  NIEUWENHUIS Joris | BALOISE TREK LIONS | 1:00:19 |
| 2 |  VANDEPUTTE Niels | ALPECIN - DECEUNINCK | 1:01 |
| 3 | WYSEURE Joran | CRELAN – CORENDON | 1:33 |
| 4 | VANTHOURENHOUT Michael | PAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL | 2:05 |
| 5 | ISERBYT Eli | PAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL | 2:08 |
| 6 | SWEECK Laurens | CRELAN – CORENDON | 2:09 |
| 7 |  KUHN Kevin | CIRCUS-REUZ-TECHNORD | 2:44 |
| 8 | RÜEGG Timon | HEIZOMAT RADTEAM P / B KLOSTER KITCHEN | 2:53 |
| 9 | KAMP Ryan | PAUWELS SAUZEN - BINGOAL | 2:56 |
| 10 | VANDEBOSCH Toon | CRELAN – CORENDON | 3:00 |
MANON BAKKER SNOW QUEEN IN VAL DI SOLE
The snow of Vermiglio is a severe judge for all athletes, even the stars of world cyclocross, capable of overturning predictions and telling exciting stories. The image of the women's race was that of Manon Bakker's (Crelan-Corendon) incredulous smile on the finishing straight, when she realized that the same Val di Sole that had given her the first podium in the Cyclocross World Cup one year ago he was about to greet his first success in the top circuit.
Vermiglio was, as always, an exciting and unpredictable race: compared to the tests the day before, the five centimeters of snow that fell during the night made the route heavier and slippery in some sections, and the numerous overtakings and slides in the early stages were you are the reflection of a necessary adaptation phase.
After the fall of Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceunick) at the second corner, the home athlete Sara Casasola (FAS Airport Services-Guerciotti) took over the lead, who then gave way to the surprising Czech Kristyna Zemanova ( Brilon Racing Team), born in 2003, perhaps the quickest to find the feeling with the heavy and floury terrain.
In the second half of the first lap, however, del Carmen Alvarado found her pace again and showed off all her great condition, regaining the lead of the race and crossing the finish line after the first lap with the Czech close behind. Behind them, after a bad start, Manon Bakker was trailing at 13 seconds, while at 24 was the 2022 winner, Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceunick) together with Sara Casasola.
In the second round, Alvarado persisted with his pace, finding greater and greater confidence with the terrain especially on the smoother sections, but an error on the bridge allowed both Zemanova and Bakker to get back on his wheel. Puck Pieterse tried to close behind, followed by the Canadian Sidney McGill, while Sara Casasola was approached by the other Italians Valentina Corvi and Francesca Baroni.
When, on the third lap, Alvarado made a new acceleration, for a moment it seemed that the race had found its track. However, it was precisely the many errors of the World Cup leader that allowed Bakker to get closer and find his way again just in view of the penultimate crossing of the finish line.
In the last lap, Bakker took the lead and never gave it up: in the second half of the lap, del Carmen Alvarado gave in to fatigue and thus left room for the exultation of her compatriot on the finish line in Vermiglio. 23 seconds separated the first two at the finish line, while Pieterse, at 1:35, completed a podium all in Oranje colors. After the race, the two-time winner in Val di Sole - in cyclocross in 2022 and in Cross Country MTB in 2023 - will confirm that she found the right feeling on the saddle and with the course only in the last lap of the race.
“I am now officially in love with these places and this route,” said Manon Bakker at the end of the race. – “Today it was above all about staying calm, and I managed to do that despite a bad start. I am a very technical athlete, I like courses to ride, slippery, and where you have to express power: I would like there to be more races like this. For me this success means a lot: I have had many ups and downs in my career, this test shows that I have what it takes to stay up there."
The surprising Czech Zemanova came fourth, Canadian McGill fifth. Excellent results for the Italians Corvi and Baroni, both achieving the best placing in their careers with sixth and seventh place. Only ninth, and dark-faced at the finish line, was Sara Casasola, affected by technical problems in the second half of the race.
“It was a beautiful match, very difficult due to the terrain and difficult to read tactically, but with the warmth of the home crowd making it special. I tried to start strong and then manage, also because making mistakes is very easy here. I am very happy, also for having reached the podium among the Under 23s, which is very important for me. Thanks to the entire Italian team, and thanks to Val di Sole for organizing such a unique race", said Valentina Corvi.
FEMALE ELITE RANKING
| 1 | BAKKER Manon | CRELAN – CORENDON | 46:14 |
| 2 | ALVARADO Ceylin Del Carmen | ALPECIN - DECEUNINCK | 0:23 |
| 3 | PIETERSE Puck | 1:35 | |
| 4 |  ZEMANOVA Kristyna | BRILON RACING TEAM MB | 1:47 |
| 5 |  MCGILL Sydney | 2:14 | |
| 6 |  CROWS Valentina | 2:34 | |
| 7 | BARONI Frances | HUBO-REMOTIVE | 2:46 |
| 8 | ROCHETTE Maghalie | 3:43 | |
| 9 | CASASOLA Sarah | FAS AIRPORT SERVICES – GUErciotti | 4:06 |
| 10 | HLADIKOVÁ Katerina | BRILON RACING TEAM MB | 4:59 |
