Arvid de Kleijn confident he's ready for a big Grand Tour debut: "I want to grow to that level"
Cycling
On Sunday, Arvid de Kleijn has once again reminded everyone of his speed with a victory at the GP d'Isbergues (1.1), adding third triumph to his roll of honor in 2024. Despite a complicated road to the top, the 30-year-old Dutchman now feels like he's on the verge of a breakthrough. Ideally at a Grand Tour in 2025.
After two years of Tudor Pro Cycling, it can at least be concluded that the sprint project of the Swiss ProTeam has proven to be a successful undertaking with De Kleijn and his three lieutenants Sebastian Kolze Changizi, Rick Pluimers, Maikel Zijlaard. The Tudor train is approaching the top and now really wants to attack the sprint top. "I don't think I'm far from it," De Kleijn tells WielerFlits. "I've already shown it. Next year I want to take another step. I want to grow to that level."
The next step for De Kleijn could be riding a Grand Tour. With all the new signings for 2025, it seems almost certain that the team will be able to start in both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in 2025. "I would like to ride a Grand Tour with these guys, it is clear that my ambition lies there. What do I need to improve for that? I need to develop more content to survive the high mountains, but I am confident about that. You can train for that."
Whether Tudor will go along with the Dutchman's plans remains to be seen. "If I'm not allowed to ride a Grand Tour, I'll have to swallow three times, but then I'll just carry on. Of course, we have a lot of good Italians in our team who want to ride the Giro, so that's already going to be a difficult story. In the Tour, the number of places is also scarce, with all the quality that will be added this winter. We'll see."
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