"There are more important things in life than training in the sun for ten days" - Mike Teunissen stays in Netherlands as he welcomes baby twins

It's only logical that Mike Teunissen wasn't seen training alongside his Intermarché - Wanty teammates during the pre-season altitude camps in Spain. He's now much more needed on the home front and may become even more indispensable with the recent birth of baby twins.

"For now, everything is going well at home, but we've chosen to play it safe and stay home in January. Eliminating uncertainty, stress, or tension is essential. There are more important things in life than training in the sun for ten days," Teunissen tells IDLProCycling.

"It's definitely special because I've had an atypical preparation. Additionally, I broke my collarbone in November, which set me back a bit," he explained. "I tried to make up for it quickly by heading to Spain earlier and having a good training camp with the team. But now, attention is divided over more things. It's challenging to replicate the training here that you would normally do in Spain."

The fracture is now healed. "My collarbone is fine. I received immediate and excellent assistance in Herentals, and my physiotherapy was effective. So, he's not worried at all, not even about the kilometers he's 'missing.' We can compensate for that later by scheduling some extra training, for example, in the weeks around Tirreno and Sanremo. For now, it's a matter of using the cards we have."