"I want to get to a level where I can win races": Bahrain's promise hopes for a fresh start after a complicated season

Bahrain - Victorious may not have had the most successful two most recent seasons, but one thing you can always rely on is that the Bahrani team has some aces up their sleeve. And Max van der Meulen is one of their projects for the not-so-proximate future. The 21-year-old Dutchman has just completed a fairly eventful first season among pros, even though results this year didn't really reflect his true potential.

In the under-23 and junior categories, Van der Meulen showed talent for racing on various terrains. From mountains to cobbles, the Dutchman collected prizes such as queen stage victory at Ronde de l'Isard 2024 against Visma's GC talent Jorgen Nordhagen, 6th place at Paris-Roubaix Espoirs 2023, or a dominant win at Classique des Alpes Juniors after a 50-kilometer solo.

What stuck with Van der Meulen after the debut year in WorldTour? "It was longer, especially," he tells In de Leiderstrui. "And the level is simply higher. That's obvious, but I also realized that it was longer. I'm going to focus more on that in the coming years; taking more time to rest throughout the season, instead of getting tired."

"Especially in your first year as a pro, you don't know what you're getting into," he reflects on his season. "I think I'm really glad I didn't set myself any goals in terms of results. It's all new, it's faster, and there's a clear division of roles. So I'm really glad I didn't set myself those goals, like, 'If I don't do this, I've failed.' Now I have an overview. Now I know: I can do this, and I might be able to do this."

For his debut year, Van der Meulen already planned to take his Grand Tour baby steps by riding the Vuelta a Espana, however a crash at preparation race Vuelta a Burgos and a fractured collarbone put his Vuelta debut on hold. And since Van der Meulen already suffered a concussion at Tour de Hongrie, the entire season ended up being more or less a write-off for the young rider.

"I really struggled with that. Well, not so much with not riding the Vuelta, but I had just recovered from that concussion, and there were things on a personal level. I worked really hard to get in good shape for the Vuelta, so I was really bummed when I fell and broke my collarbone."

However the young athlete tries to take only the positive from this setback on his hopefully long career: "I realized how much I'm willing to sacrifice. I'm also proud of the hard work, how much motivation and consistency I showed, how much discipline. Even though I didn't get anything for it in the end."

And a goal for 2026? Quite simple: "I just want to get to a level where I can win races. I don't care what kind of races those are. I've come close to riding a final a few times, but I haven't been there yet. To win, you first have to ride a final."