Month: March 2017

Triptyque stage 1 review

Triptyque stage 1 review

Tough day on the bike for our guys today in Belgium. Our 7 men line up started the Tryptique des Monts et Châteux with a 166 km long stage that featured up to four category one climbs. But the main difficulty of the day was the persistent rain and strong wind that was present all day long. It was a hard day for the peloton, as most of the time was spend chasing down different breakaway groups that were trying to go clear.  In the final part a group of 10 riders went…continue reading →
Martijn de Jong: “Focus on development is key for us”

Martijn de Jong: “Focus on development is key for us”

Martijn de Jong is enjoying his second season with the team. He feels he is in the right place to keep growing as a rider. "The development focus is key for us riders. The team does not always look at the results, but rather to the performance. This gives us a lot of confidence. With this way of working, I can get better and better.” After a season start more focused on flatter races, now it is time for the hilly courses to come in. Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux and Circuit des…continue reading →
Michiel Elijzen: “We can look forward with a lot of confidence”

Michiel Elijzen: “We can look forward with a lot of confidence”

With several one-day races and the first stage race of the season in the books, our Performance Manager is happy with how the team has ridden so far: "I’m really satisfied with the first weeks of racing. Not only because of the two victories, but also the way the team has presented itself during the races: aggressive and competing as one. I think that is an important part of development." Tour of Normandie was one of our first targets and the team got in there with a clear goal. "We said before the race…continue reading →
Fabio sixth in Normandie; Hartthijs fifth in Gent-Wevelgem

Fabio sixth in Normandie; Hartthijs fifth in Gent-Wevelgem

That is a wrap for our first stage race of the season! Today's stage was off to a fast start as it took a while for the breakaway to being formed. Eventually a group of 3 guys went up the road and stayed there until 6 km to go. With the peloton all together heading to the last lap our guys positioned Fabio Jakobsen for the final sprint and he finished in sixth place.  With several top placements and a stage win, we are really satisfied on how our first stage race went, and…continue reading →
Gabriel Cullaigh sprints to tenth in Normandie

Gabriel Cullaigh sprints to tenth in Normandie

Another high speed day in the books for our guys as today's average speed was again above the 44km/h. The sixth stage of the Tour de Normandie  presented a challenging initial terrain with 3 categorized climbs, and after several attempts the final breakaway of the day was formed by four riders.  The peloton kicked up the pace as they got to the hilly local circuit but the victory remained upfront and it was played in a four men sprint. Because of the accumulated fatigue and the exigent parcour the peloton was down to…continue reading →
Medical update

Medical update

Cees Bol Even though he was more than ready to kick off his season, Cees Bol suffered an unfortunate incident at home. A knock on his head resulted in a severe concussion. We are being extra careful with Cees, monitoring him day by day to see when it will be appropriate for him to get back on the bike. This is obviously a big blow for the winner of Olympia’s Tour 2016, who had ambitious goals for this spring. Hopefully, Cees will be fully recovered soon.  Peter Lenderink The strong Dutchman had a…continue reading →
Fabio Jakobsen close to the victory again at Tour de Normandie

Fabio Jakobsen close to the victory again at Tour de Normandie

Today was no easy day for the team in Tour de Normandie. A four men breakaway animated the race early on and led it for most part of the day, but because of the fast pace of the peloton the gap was never higher than 3 minutes. Our guys worked hard during the whole day and with 50 km to go they took the lead of the bunch and controlled the chase.  The group got together into the last lap and the speed increased as a massive sprint was coming up. Amazing teamwork put Fabio Jakobsen in…continue reading →
Gabriel Cullaigh finishes tenth in stage 4 of Tour de Normandie

Gabriel Cullaigh finishes tenth in stage 4 of Tour de Normandie

It was a cold, rainy and windy day in Tour de Normandie. Stage three kicked off at the foot of a 2 km long hill, and after several attempts the breakaway was composed. Five riders, including our Marten Kooistra went up the road and worked together during the vast majority of the stage. Meanwhile the peloton was riding at controlled tempo, keeping the leader's gap always around two minutes. The leading group grew up to six riders before the last lap, as the peloton approached the last climb of the day.  At the top of it…continue reading →
Fabio Jakobsen wins stage 2 of Tour de Normandie

Fabio Jakobsen wins stage 2 of Tour de Normandie

Another fast day in Tour de Normandie. As yesterday the peloton rode very fast, and the gap of the four men breakaway never got over two minutes.  Our  team was perfectly positioned in the bunch all day long, and that counted at the final part of the stage. Exceptional work by the lead-out train put Fabio Jakobsen in excellent position and the U23 Dutch Champion finished it off with an amazing win!  Impressive season start by Fabio as he grabs his second win and third podium in only five racing days!  Congratulations to all! Great team…continue reading →
Tour de Normandie stage 1 report

Tour de Normandie stage 1 report

It was a very fast day today in Normandie, the hilly 143 km course was completed at an average speed above 42 km/h. But it was not only the high pace but also strong wind what made the stage a tough day on the saddle for the riders. Echelons were present all day long, and after an hour of racing the peloton was down to small groups. Our guys were well positioned and made it to the first one, but luck was not on the side of Julius van den Berg as he punctured in…continue reading →