Meet the EF Education-EasyPost rider who swapped Zwift for World Tour fairy tale: "Everything is beautiful and goes according to plan”
Cycling
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee’s journey to the WorldTour is
one of the most remarkable stories in modern cycling. The 23-year-old Dutchman,
now riding for EF Education-EasyPost, didn't take the conventional route
through junior and U23 development teams.
Instead, he caught the team's
attention through his online performances on Zwift, proving that virtual racing
can be a genuine pathway to the professional ranks in the modern era.
Transitioning from indoor training to competing at the
highest level is no easy feat, yet van der Lee has handled the shift with
impressive maturity. In 2023, he demonstrated his talent by winning Omloop van
Simpelveld, showing his ability to compete and win in real world racing
conditions.
Now, in 2025, he is making strides in the professional peloton,
proving that his raw talent, endurance, and tactical understanding translate
beyond the digital world.
Read also
He recently caught up with In de Leiderstrui, reflecting on
his early season races, his experiences riding against the best in the world,
and what he hopes to achieve in the coming years.
Van der Lee raced at the UAE Tour, where he played a
supporting role for Georg Steinhauser. The race was progressing well until the
final stage, where echelons disrupted their strategy.
"On the last day, there were echelons and he was just
behind them," said van der Lee. "At first, it was stuck at a minute,
but then it quickly increased. The men from UAE started to turn and eventually
they had a lead of three minutes on the climb."
For van der Lee, the most striking part of the UAE Tour was racing
in the same peloton as Tadej Pogacar for the first time. Competing against the reigning
world champion provided a new perspective on how races unfold at the highest
level.
"You notice that other teams adjust their race to
someone like that, because you know: he determines the course of the race. That
is a completely different way of riding. It was not only the first time that I
rode against him, but also the first time that I raced in this way. That took
some getting used to."
Many riders would feel overawed racing alongside someone
like Pogacar, but van der Lee took a pragmatic approach.
"He makes the race. Normally you have a plan: we're
going to do this and that. But with riders like Pogacar, that plan can suddenly
change. In itself, it was a nice experience."
Despite the big-name competition, he wasn’t intimidated.
"At a certain point, it's like that: they're just your
competitors. You shouldn't think about it too much, but of course it's still
cool to race against riders like that."
Coming from an amateur background, van der Lee appreciates how
race dynamics change at the pro level, where tactical battles often replace the
all-out attacking style of lower-level racing.
"I have to say that I do see the charm in it. I come
from the amateur level and there it is always a race from start to finish. That
is simply not the case with the pros, so when these kinds of men take the
initiative and make the race hard, I think that is cool. For the cycling
enthusiast, it is spectacular to see."
His 2024 season also included an appearance at Paris-Roubaix,
where he witnessed Mathieu van der Poel’s dominant victory, "That was
great to experience."
His performance in races like Paris-Roubaix also helped EF
Education-EasyPost determine where his strengths lie.
"I notice that after a few days, I am still just as
fresh as on the first day, and that makes me more suitable for multi-day races
instead of one-day ones."
However, adjusting to life in the professional peloton
wasn’t without its challenges. The step up in intensity, frequent travel, and
training demands took time to adapt to, and van der Lee acknowledges there were
moments when the grind of racing caught up with him.
"In races at a slightly lower level, I could perform my
task as a rider better and make more of myself," he admitted. "All in
all, it was a long year, with many races and both ups and downs. Sometimes I
came back from a race or training camp and thought: I should have done this
differently. You learn from that, and next time you make progress."
The biggest challenge came just before the Tour of the Alps,
when the relentless nature of the sport took a toll.
"The toughest moment of the season was just before the
Tour of the Alps, after a few tough weeks. Then I thought: gosh, this is really
a lot. I had to take a step back."
Despite the intensity, he remains grounded and grateful, "If
you can make your dream your job, you should not complain but carry on. I am
doing something that I love, and mentally it has never been too much for
me."
One of the biggest learning experiences came from his first altitude
training camp. Many riders struggle with the adjustment to high-altitude
training, and van der Lee quickly discovered its unique challenges.
"The altitude training camp was a completely new
experience for me. You have to train calmly there and not push yourself. The
first two weeks felt good, and we really built it up slowly. In the third week,
we started with intervals, and then I quickly reached my limit. But that is
exactly how you get to know your body better: what you can handle, where your
limits are, and where there is still room for improvement."
Endurance has been a focus for him, and the improvements
have been clear.
"In terms of endurance, we are well on schedule, I see
a lot of progress there. But in terms of peak power, I would have liked to be a
bit further along. Still, I am satisfied with what I have achieved."
The next step in his development will be focusing on peak
power, an area where he hopes to see substantial gains in 2025.
"Because we focused mainly on endurance this year, for
example, to still be able to deliver high values at the end of the race, that
was somewhat at the expense of my peak power."
This will now be a key part of his training, "From a
sprint to a long climb. If that works, I might be able to compete for a stage
win or provide an important lead-out uphill."
Despite his progress, van der Lee acknowledges that his role
in the team is primarily supporting others rather than chasing individual
results.
"It is difficult for my type of rider to set a specific
result as a goal because I mainly ride in a supporting role. The main focus is
to continue to make progress in the coming years, until you are at a level
where the growth flattens out. Then you can see how you can improve your
results through tactical choices and external factors."
His love for the sport remains undiminished, and he feels
fortunate to be pursuing his dream.
"Professional cycling is exactly how I imagined it. I
focused on it completely in my last year before my professional contract, and I
haven't regretted it for a moment. You sacrifice things, but you also get a lot
in return. Ultimately, it's about priorities and how much you want to go for
something. Top-level sport requires complete focus, and you have to live by
that. There are always plan Bs, but we're postponing those for now."
For now, he is fully committed to seeing how far he can go, "It's
almost boring for you," he laughed. "Everything is beautiful and goes
according to plan, a kind of fairy tale story. But it really is one hundred
percent true: I do this with great pleasure and can't imagine doing anything
else."
His biggest goal for 2025 is to ride in a Grand Tour, a
challenge that will test his stamina and mental toughness.
"I hope to be able to ride a Grand Tour this year, just
to see how my body reacts to it. That is something I really want to
experience."
Given his ability to stay strong in multi-day races, it
could be the perfect opportunity to prove himself, "It is an interesting
challenge to discover how my body holds up. It is a goal to ride a Grand Tour
this year and also to finish it."
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- ❤️Lozza15-11-2026
- The greatest ever is a crazy claim. But in discussions about sport in our local media, among people with no particular interest in cycling, he has been the first person they've thought of when giving examples of exceptional athletes.Hills3315-11-2026
- Urska may be less keen on a cafe if keeping it afloat will fall to her, so maybe just a nice dream!Hills3315-11-2026
- Raise thine hand if the money you have made for retirement slips away on poor investments.Most of us will outlive our financial comforts because we don't have the financial acumen to ensure a comfortable lifelong retirement and that is a statistical fact not my opinion.Many millionaires have pissed their money away or had it taken away by so called conniving "financial advisors".The world of wealth is a dangerous place that most of us will never experience nor appreciate.
Brucegel15-11-2026 - You are interested in Pogi for one reason only, you feel like you are somehow related because you share some vague geographical identity. Other than that you have very little interest in cycling as all your posts show, if it can’t be connected to Pogi you have nothing to post. That said, recent activity here shows we are attracting quite a crowd from his region.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- From knowing past cycling stars with shops I can only say, think it through. Not only is it mundane after a while but it really doesn’t take you out of the limelight, in the end you’ll be trying to stay away from the place yourself whilst all your fans keep coming for you.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Careful investment? I think he can live very comfortably with zero investments, what does he need more? The world would do well if more people set a target for how much they need or would make them “happy” and then stop worrying about perpetually having to make more.Jumpyjohn15-11-2026
- Yes, Roglic could theoretically have beaten Sepp. Jonas must have had complete confidence that he could come back and win the Vuelta another year. Visma had not allowed Roglic to ride the Tour that year, so his future did not look so bright, despite his narrow Giro win..Hills3315-11-2026
- So far, a good series about riders before my time, even if the text feels AI generated like so much on this site. About the rider, he seems like one of many who are active fan favorites but don’t survive in the stories of cycling, a few decades later - I didn’t really know anything about him and this was a good read, thank you!RidesHills15-11-2026
- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment