"A beautiful edition, and I enjoyed it as much as I could" — Lars van der Haar bids farewell to the Koppenberg and to cyclocross

For the final time in his long and successful career, Lars van der Haar faced the infamous slopes of the Koppenbergcross. On November 1, the Dutch rider from Baloise Glowi Lions finished sixth on the muddy and historic climb known as the Bult van Melden, marking the end of an era in professional cyclocross.

“That was it. A beautiful edition, and I enjoyed it as much as I could,” Van der Haar said after the race in an interview with In de Leiderstrui. Despite his satisfaction, the 34-year-old admitted that his start had cost him a better result.

“If I’d had a better start, there was more in it. But it just didn’t happen. From the start, I barely moved forward. Why that is, I don’t really know. Sometimes I start well here, sometimes badly. And today, it was bad.”

Still, Van der Haar fought back impressively to secure sixth place. “I rode the same lap times the whole race, and then you always know a few will fade. But to be honest, I didn’t really know exactly where I was in the race,” he explained.

Van der Haar’s announcement earlier in the week that he would retire from cyclocross was no coincidence, as it came just before the Koppenbergcross, a race filled with personal memories.

“I already raced here as a junior, back when the finish was still at the bottom. Over the years, I’ve had so many stories here: from arguing with my mother to standing on the podium with Sven Nys and eventually winning twice,” he recalled.

The Dutchman, who has been one of the sport’s most consistent performers over the past decade, received a huge number of messages following his retirement announcement.

“There were more reactions than I expected. Hundreds, actually. And the Dutch media was also much more interested than I thought, even NOS sent a camera during election time. That’s really cool,” he said.

Despite his long list of achievements, Van der Haar admitted he was surprised by the warmth of the response. “When you’re in the cyclocross world, you don’t expect that. You always have the feeling that you’re only as good as your last race. If that one isn’t great, you think everyone has forgotten you. But apparently, that’s not quite the case,” he reflected.

The 34-year-old explained that the increasing difficulty of the lifestyle and the mental strain of constant sacrifice were the main reasons to call time on his career. “I noticed the sacrifices were becoming harder, and at some point, you start to feel it in training. This year, it got worse. I felt unbelievably unhappy on the bike in road races. I just didn’t see myself doing that for another year,” he confessed.

He elaborated on the demanding lifestyle professional cycling requires. “Think of the things you have to give up: you don’t visit friends or family, you always go to bed early, you don’t drink alcohol... and you don’t take your daughter to the playground because you might get sore muscles the next day. At a certain point, you stop getting satisfaction from it.”

Van der Haar also reflected on how cycling has evolved during his career - not always for the better, in his eyes.

“When I started, there wasn’t nearly as much data. We had fun. Now, at the table, it’s all about wattages, nutrition, sleep, and so on. Everything is measurable, and that’s what everyone talks about all day,” he said. “Meanwhile, I’m just like: guys, go ride your bike. It’s a different world now.”