"I thought: what is happening here actually?": Van der Haar says goodbye to Dutch Nationals with emotional silver medal
Cyclocross
Everything comes to an end eventually, and this weekend marked the last national championships for Lars van der Haar. The veteran Dutch rider already announced that he will put an end to his long and successful career after the 2025-2026 season is over, and he wanted to say goodbye in style. While he ultimately finished just seconds behind the new champion Tibor Del Grosso, Van der Haar’s silver medal felt almost like a victory for him.
Securing silver with an impressive comeback
The race turned into a duel between generations. Tibor Del Grosso, one of the brightest young talents in the sport, seemed to have the title secured. However, in the final laps, Van der Haar found a second wind. He dropped his teammate Pim Ronhaar and began closing the gap to the front, sending the spectators into a frenzy.
"I noticed that the people were going crazy, but I was becoming crazy myself too. I thought: what is happening here actually?" Van der Haar said while speaking to In de Leiderstrui.
He admitted that he hadn't planned to race for the win, and his focus had simply been on securing a podium spot. "I did everything I could, but I must say quite honestly that I was totally not occupied with that when I attacked in that group. I was just focused on the third place," he explained.
"That was what was going around in my head: it would be so beautiful to stand on the podium one more time. Maybe because of that I was too little occupied with the race ahead of me, but on the other hand because of that I still had the energy at the end. Because I rode in the last wheel of that group."
By the time he realized the gold medal was within reach, it was slightly too late to bridge the final gap to Del Grosso. "I only thought at the end myself that it was possible, but eventually it turned out to be just those five seconds too much and Tibor could hold it."
Van der Haar has 41 professional victories so far
Not an easy preparation
Van der Haar’s performance was even more impressive given his shape during the past races. His Christmas campaign was apparently affected by a freak accident at home involving his family.
"I had no ideal run-up to the Christmas period, because just before I had fallen down the stairs with my daughter and went through my ankle there," he revealed. "In Hofstade I then went through my other ankle, which was just annoying."
These injuries forced him to sit out several races to recover in time for the national championships. "That made it a rotten period, but I took some rest, skipped a few races and now my ankle was at 90 percent. And that was enough to become second here."
The venue in Huijbergen holds a special place in Van der Haar’s career statistics. Sunday’s result ensured he maintained a perfect podium record on this specific course.
"I did everything I could and find it beautiful to end my last national championship as vice-champion. I have ridden five championships here in Huijbergen and have achieved a medal five times, so this is a nice closer," he concluded.
Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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