BEYOND THE BEATEN PATH
“From an early age I knew I got quite lucky with the genetic lottery. I always had the right physiological characteristics to do well in endurance sports. People would often tell me I should pick up running or cycling, because they thought I ‘already look like one of those guys’. And they were probably right… Back as a teenager I did some local competitive running in relay and solo events. As far as I recall, I won all of those events and had 1 DNF. Also during my days in the Royal Netherlands Air Force I felt quite competitive when it came to endurance related events that didn’t require raw muscle power. The only problem I’ve always had was the lack of a drive because I had no long-term goal. A few years ago I picked up cycling and this time I do have a goal.. I want to win Unbound Gravel. This time I want to do things differently and actually pursue a crazy dream I have. I want to go beyond the beaten path in life”
Why I switched from a physical cycling coach to the JOIN cycling app.
If you are a cyclist like me then you are always looking for that extra marginal gain, whether it’s that freshly waxed chain saving you a handful of watts, that new set of wheels saving a few hundred grams or that new supplement giving you that extra kick when you need it the most. A lot of the cycling products out there nowadays are just marketing snake oil, some of them are not. I have tried almost every crazy upgrade […]
NL Gravel Series – Race 2 – Meerveld: Race Report
Race 2 out of 5 of the NL gravel series. As you could have read here, things in race number one didn’t go completely as planned. I only finished P62 out of 84/85-ish participants. Here’s a list of things I learned during that first race: Lower tire pressures: I weigh 59kg (130lbs) and I was running 28,5 PSI in the front and 29,5 in the back. I was sliding all over the place and was losing a lot of through […]
NL Gravel Series – Race 1 – Zandvoort: Race Report
For many years gravel cycling in the U.S. is a growing discipline with events like Unbound gravel getting more exposure and attracting new gravel grinders with every new edition. Even current and former pros, like Peter Sagan, Peter Stetina, Laurens ten Dam and Mateo Jorgensen are dipping their feet in to see what it’s like. In the Netherlands however, gravel racing is still in it’s early stages. There weren’t many actual races before this year, just the sportives (which can […]