"I prefer when the race becomes harder" - Marijn van den Berg excited to make Vuelta debut

Marijn van den Berg has been enjoying a breakthrough year in 2023, racking up his first three professional victories with the one from Tour de Pologne being the highlight. Just before his grand tour debut at Vuelta a Espana, the 24-year old shared his ambitions in an interview with In de Leiderstrui.

Despite fast legs, Marijn van den Berg doesn't quite consider himself a pure sprinter. "For me it is more favorable if the race is harder. I'm not a pure mass sprinter, so this Vuelta should be good for me. I don't have the raw sprint power. When I look at my numbers, there are many opponents who can deliver higher watts."

"It went very well in Poland, I surprised myself by staying ahead of the other guys. So it is possible, but I have a better chance in a stage in which those guys have already suffered a bit more. I think there are two days in the Vuelta that are really flat, which is good for me. Although I will also throw myself in the real mass sprints. With this field of sprinters I can get a good result."

He refers to the absence of a real top sprinter in La Vuelta. If he himself already arrives with Juan Sebastián Molano and Kaden Groves as main competitors. "Fortunately, sprinting is also about positioning, so I can still come out on the top. If it's harder and it ramps up a bit, then my thirty second power is comparatively much better than my peak power."