Niels Willems: Forged in Belgium, Built for SISU Racing 🇧🇪
Repping SISU Racing from Mechelen — a historic city perfectly wedged between Brussels and Antwerp — Niels Willems proudly calls Belgium the cornerstone of cycling. And like the country itself, his riding is built on grit, versatility, and a deep respect for shared suffering.
From football fields to judo mats, climbing walls to snowboards, Niels tried just about every sport before cycling quietly took over. A knee injury in 2011 led to his first race bike — an aluminium Shimano 105 triple in Rabobank colours — ridden purely for fun. Love for cycling came later, forged on family holidays in southern France where the Mont Ventoux region did what it has done to countless riders before him: it converted him.
Zwift arrived in 2021 during the Covid years, opening a new chapter. Solo racing had its appeal, but it was the Zwift Racing League that truly hooked him. The teamwork. The planning. The collective effort. A joint sufferfest is a fun sufferfest.
Ask Niels how he rides and he’ll smile: the Swiss Army knife. Not a specialist, but capable everywhere — mountain cols, Flemish hills, fast group rides, even cobbles (with a complicated love-hate relationship). That all round strength carries straight into his role as captain of SISU Racing’s Punasotka ZRL team, where organisation, clarity, and trust matter as much as watts.
Motivation, for Niels, isn’t about results. It’s about showing up — sometimes at 10pm, after work and kids are asleep — and building mental strength. Staying an active dad for as long as possible is his true north.
He speaks openly about setbacks. Knee surgery in 2023. An eight-month burnout in 2022 that forced a full reset. Cycling became his way back — a space to reflect, rebuild, and rediscover joy. The clichés, he says, are true for a reason: trust the process. It never gets easier — you just go faster. But above all, comebacks should still be fun.
One of his proudest moments came in June 2024 with The Cannibale — nearly 200km and 5,000m of climbing around Mont Ventoux, tackled just six months after starting from scratch post surgery. A ride that proved patience and belief can rebuild more than fitness.
With the SISU Club Championships coming up, Niels has already signed up. New York’s terrain excites him, and if family logistics allow, the road race is where he expects to shine. Looking ahead to 2026, he’s eyeing Les 3 Ballons in the Vosges — 180km, 4,000m of climbing, finishing atop La Planche des Belles Filles — alongside the everyday goal of riding as much as life allows.
And in a perfectly modern SISU twist, Niels joined the team on the recommendation of ChatGPT. He didn’t know a single SISU rider when he joined. It didn’t take long to understand why the recommendation was spot on.
Belgium grit. All-round strength. Shared suffering.
That’s SISU — and Niels Willems lives it. 💙