Jumbo-Visma transfers "feels a bit like coming home" for Dylan van Baarle

Dylan van Baarle was one of the headliners of the 2022 cycling season, conquering his first monument at Paris-Roubaix whilst finishing second at the Tour des Flandres. His collaboration with INEOS Grenadiers seemed perfect, but the Dutchman has decided to move into Jumbo-Visma.

In conversation with Indeleiderstrui the Dutchman has talked about his run-up to the Tour des Flandres. "I had a good feeling in the E3 Saxo Bank Classic and Gent-Wevelgem, but Dwars door Vlaanderen was a day to forget quickly. That was nothing at all, I just couldn't move forward. So then I started to have some doubts and that way I didn't stand at the start of Flanders with the feeling that I was going to ride on the podium, the maximum achievable.," he said.

In the Flandrien race however, van Baarle attacked together with Fred Wright early on in the finale to anticipate the big moves and later caught on with Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar, eventually sprinting to second place. He had the form and the team to tackle Paris-Roubaix, and the 30-year old imposed himself with an impressive performance he was hinting at.

"Early in the race it was already blowing a bit and we were away with seventy men in no time, without Van der Poel, Van Aert, Küng and some of those men. Finally, when we were still 15, I knew I was really good and I pulled away by slaloming a bit and taking risks on the cobblestones," he described.

The win was taken solo and with a comfortable margin, leaving van Baarle with a career-best achievement, much needed after consecutively finishing second in Flandres and at the World Championships. He is, coincidentally, linking up with the team widely considered to be the strongest classics lineup of 2022, Jumbo-Visma, where he will team up with the likes of Wout van Aert, Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot.

In the Live Slow Ride Fast Podcast, he has mentioned the beginning of talks with Jumbo-Visma. "I thought last winter that I didn't feel like changing teams either, but the fire was gradually being fueled. Merijn [Zeeman, Jumbo-Visma manager] immediately hung up on the phone again after Paris-Roubaix, although there were already negotiations, and with Dave [Brailsford] and Rod [Ellingworth] it took a little longer.

Van Baarle, who had ridden for the Dutch team's development ranks between 2011 and 2013 before turning pro, will be moving to the top team of his nation - as will compatriot Wilco Kelderman, alongside Atilla Valter, Thomas Gloag and Jan Tratnik.

“They are confident it will work and so am I," he continued. "We have a strong team and we only make each other stronger. We have to get to the final with as many as possible and then play the game," the Monaco-based rider said. 'In any case, I'm super curious about what they can get out of me. It also feels a bit like coming home, so I'm really looking forward to it."