Tour de France wonder Frank van den Broek feels like he was better in other races: "I was actually only really good in that first stage"

Frank van den Broek and Romain Bardet made headlines after the first stage of this year's Tour de France. While the more experienced of the Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL was finally able to wear the sought after yellow jersey for the first time in his career, it was the young Dutch neo-pro who truly impressed. And it certainly wasn't the only time the 24-year-old stood out in 2024.

"I look back on 2024 very positively," he begins in an interview for WielerFlits. "We made a nice plan with the team in advance. I actually followed that until the beginning of May, after which we adjusted it a bit. That had to do with the Tour, the highlight of my year. It was very successful for me. After that, I didn't really peak anymore, but I was still able to ride a lot of nice races."

At the same time, Van den Broek points out that another Tour may have been where he performed his best - the 2.Pro Tour of Turkey in April. "That was the Tour of Turkey, where I won a stage and the final classification. Also my first at professional level. Actually, everything went well there for a week. That is why I find it difficult to point out the Tour as my best race, because I was actually only really good in that first stage."

In his first professional season, Van den Broek was tested on all fronts as the team sent him to no less than 85 race days. "Certainly at the end of the year I noticed that it was over the limit. But as far as gaining experience is concerned, that worked out in my first pro year. Only I did get tired towards the end of the year. Because of my good base I sometimes had an outlier like in Canada, but that fluctuated quite a bit. On some days I had nothing left in the tank."

Van den Broek already has an idea of what awaits him in 2025, but can't disclose any details at the moment. However it seems like the calendar should fit his ideal even better. "Last year, the focus was mainly on gaining experience. Next season, I will be a little less busy and can therefore focus more on training. That is where I see the most improvement. I recently heard the first version of my program. I am very positive about that, because I will also travel a little less and have more time for training."