Cees Bol's season "a bit out of balance" however Team DSM sprinter looks to return to winning ways
Cycling
Cees Bol has been having a difficult season, but he has not lost hope of a big win in the closing months of the year, as he looks to succeed before leaving Team DSM into the 2023 season.
"I left the Tour de Suisse with COVID-19. I was pretty sick after Paris-Nice, too, and in the winter, I had some problems with the knee. There's also definitely been times where the shape has been good, and I've been riding well. But it's a bit out of balance, I would say," Bol told Cyclingnews at the Arctic Race of Norway, where he struggled through the week without a result to show for his disappointing season.
Over the 2020 and 2021 season Bol was an emerging sprinter within Team DSM, but this season he has struggled with results, finishing in the Top10 at sprints in the Tour de Suisse and Tour of Turkey, but without contesting a win, and largely missing bunch sprints in other big races where he was lined up. At the Giro d'Italia he managed to play a role in Alberto Dainese's win in Reggio Emilia, however that has been the highlight of the season for the Dutchman.
Now, moving away from Team DSM, he is set to join B&B Hotels-KTM, possibly alongside Mark Cavendish as the team prepares for an important budget increase. "It's been a good time here and we'll see when there's more news about the future. I can't say too much about it. I haven't signed anywhere but I don't think it will be too long anymore," he said regarding that.
Bol struggled in Norway, but with two months of competition left he is still hoping to get back to his best form and take his first win of the year. "I have a really nice race programme actually," he reveals.
"I'll do Hamburg next and then the Tour of Britain, and then a lot of the Belgian one-day races. They're nice races for me, and I look forward to racing them. I hope the form is coming a bit more, I think so," the 27-year old concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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