Tim van Dijke approaches season debut at Omloop with respect: "I expect that it's going to be hell without any competitions in my legs"

Cycling
Saturday, 01 March 2025 at 02:00
timvandijke
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe made many exciting signings to strengthen their classics lineup. This includes the Van Dijke twins from Visma | Lease a Bike. While Tim van Dijke already showed glimpses of what might be his potential at last year's Paris-Roubaix, Mick van Dijke is still yet to carve his name into (cobble) stone.
New team also means new approach to pre-season for the 24-year-old brothers: "I really wanted to do an altitude training camp," Tim explains in an interview with WielerFlits. "Because I am also riding Tirreno-Adriatico, that training camp had to be done before the Opening Weekend. And I also need competition toughness, that is why we preferred to do altitude beforehand rather than in the middle of the classics campaign. "
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad will be their first race in new team colours: "So I am really looking forward to racing now, but I do keep in mind that it is going to be hell," he adds. "Everyone wants to be good here. And then I come here to participate nicely without any competitions in my legs. That is why I expect that I will die a thousand deaths, that is what I am preparing for."
"In any case, I am doing well. I am stronger than last year. The biggest difference is that I am almost two kilos lighter than in 2024. That is quite a lot. But above all, I feel good, I feel fit. I hope to be able to start the Opening Weekend and ride home with a good feeling. I also hope to reach the final, that is what I hope."
Contrary to his brother, Mick van Dijke didn't have a perfect preparation as a knee pain forced him to sit back for two weeks. "It is still a bit of a matter of finding out how I am going to handle the altitude training camp. We really see this as a learning period, because we have never had such a preparation for the classics. But I do feel good. Saturday is just an important day for me. Then it is a bit more selective and I can do my own thing. That is my preference."
"We have a strong classics team. But it will take some time to get a feel for each other. This weekend will help us a lot. In principle, we will all start in a free role, simply because we do not yet know whether someone will stand out a bit." It'll be certainly interesting to see the dynamics of the newly put together Classics strike team which also includes Oier Lazkano, Jan Tratnik, Jordi Meeus, and in later races also Laurence Pithie.
claps 0visitors 0

Just in

Popular news

Latest comments