Nathan van Hooydonck is no longer a pro cyclist but is still very active within the cycling world. Now an analyst, the Dutchman was also present at the Opening Weekend as a VIP and was at the finish line to congratulate his former Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammates. He believes they will have great responsibility after an amazing two races.
“For me, they are still my teammates. But yes, I look at it with a lot of pride and joy," van Hooydonck shared with Wielerflits this weekend. "I think they handled it fantastically. Today (Sunday, ed.) Wout wins in a way he wants to win, yesterday it ended well for Jan. I think they played out the excess perfectly and won a classic twice." Last year it was van Hooydonck who was in the same position, having finished second helping Tiesj Benoot to victory on the day.
He was a key part of Visma's classics block last year but the Dutch team have found a good replacement in Matteo Jorgenson, and Jan Tratnik who has taken a step up. The Dutch team effectively broke the peloton in both events this weekend and - against competition that did no include Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen - won both in convincing fashion.
What follows? “A lot of responsibility," he believes. However it is important to note that races later in the spring may not follow the same course. "The ratios are now somewhat on the table: these value ratios will be maintained for the rest of the spring. But there will be a few more strong riders, such as Mathieu. Then the race can simply turn out completely differently.”
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