The Nienke Poll crossed this season of Nistelrode against the top of the world. In December, she made her debut in World Cup competition and at the beginning of this month she competed in the World Cup in Georgia. It wasn’t obvious she was there at first. Did not prepare as planned due to injuries. In January she placed fourth at the Universiade in the United States, but upon her return she suffered a concussion following a fall during training in France.

Three weeks later, she was allowed to snowboard again, but now her ankle ligaments had taken a serious hit in the fall. I had trouble walking for three or four days. The tendons of one ankle were sore.” When I went snowboarding again for a day, walking became difficult again for two days.

“Snowboardcross is an injury-prone sport. You have a lot of speed and you have to get over obstacles. If you go, it gets hard. After you fall on the first bump, four more come along, and then you keep bouncing.” The 21-year-old, who is training with the Swiss national team, recovered just in time for the start of the World Cup in Bakurkany. “An amazing experience.”

The opposition is not only much stronger than in the European Cup, the lower level of the World Cup. The track is also bigger and faster. “You just learn by doing it.” She was very satisfied with her race, but a place in the quarter-finals was not an option. The Netherlands was also represented in the mixed teams for the first time. Team up a poll with Glenn de Blois. They are eliminated after falling by a scout.

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Descent is part of the skateboard cross. She falls, gets up and goes again. Often without serious consequences. However, this is not always the case. The 21-year-old can relate to that. She broke her back in October 2021. She doesn’t know exactly what happened while training in Switzerland. “He went quickly.” I fell on a bump and bounced a few more times. The scout was not in pain, but he could not get up. A doctor was called, she was not allowed to move, after which a helicopter took her to the hospital.

There I noticed that she was serious. She had to lie on her back and not move. “I had to pee and normally I could do it in a bowl, but the doctor said wait a minute. I noticed from the doctors’ behavior that there was more to it.” She wasn’t in pain, but she just burst into tears from the stress and uncertainty. “Once upon a time I got tired of crying.” The fracture was found with the help of an examination of her lower back. Surgery followed the same day.

The huge taste did not scare her. Three months later she was back on her skateboard. Although it was a bit of a test of how her body would react. Oddly enough, the fall helped her in this. “It sounds weird, but luckily I hit really hard once. I thought about what I feel now? I feel something, but it’s not so bad. My body can take it.”

Since then it has continued to develop well. Participating in the World Cup was what she calls an “in-between dream”. The big dream must come true in 2026 to participate in the Olympic Games in Milan. A ten-year plan was put in place in 2016 to get there. “I was running a little ahead of schedule until I broke my back, but now it’s going according to plan.” The next step is that she wants to ride more World Cup races next season to gain experience.