Bauke Mollema first rider to test new climb in VAM area: "Now there is a slightly longer climb. That makes it just a little more unsuitable for a pure sprinter"

Bauke Mollema happened to be in Drenthe and knew that the new slope next to famous VAM-berg was asphalted last week. At the weekend he decided to send a message to organizer Thijs Rondhuis whether the new climb was already open. After the sweeper had removed the last grit, it turned out to be the case on Monday and so the experienced rider was the first to test the new climb.

"I rode the entire 115-kilometer approach loop and then did a few laps on the VAM site. That was a nice goal when you are training on the flat. And it also worked out well for Thijs. This way, the organization could immediately hear how a rider's eye looks at the course."

"The highest point of that new climb is a bit higher, so the effort is just a bit longer. This applies both to the road at the rear, so to speak, and in line with where the arrival of the 2022 Dutch championships was. On top you then have a flat piece, a kind of plateau of a few hundred meters. It's completely open there. You have just made a slightly longer effort than usual. If you just come to a halt there or you pull on for a while, then you make the gap in the wind just a bit bigger."

"It means that you have to go to the extreme for just twenty seconds longer. Whether it can be decisive I dare not say, but it will certainly have an influence. Now there is a slightly longer climb. That makes it just a little more unsuitable for a pure sprinter," says Mollema. "For someone like Dylan Groenewegen, this is really too long. But a rider like Olav Kooij when he is in good shape should be able to handle this very well."