Pim Ronhaar says goodbye to U23's - "I think I can ride top-5 in the elite”

The 2021 UCI Cyclocross World Champion from the under-23's men's race, Pim Ronhaar has announced he is done racing at the youth level and is set to ride exclusively in elite-level races from now on.

One thing for sure when it comes to Pim Ronhaar is that he doesn't lack confidence. “Last week in the World Cup in Maasmechelen, Thibau and I drove for first place in the U23 category. Afterwards we compared the lap times with those of the elite. That showed us that with those lap times we are also able to ride in the top-5 in the elite.” The Dutch rider said, "I think I can normally ride top-5 in the elite.”

As mentioned, Ronhaar is a former world champion at u23 level on the crosses, one thing missing from his palmares is the u23 European Championship. In Namur at the start of November, Ronhaar looked set to finally take the crown but a late race collapse saw him eventually finish 5th. As the 20-year-old said himself post race “I had a problem with my shifting system, but Verstrynge was the deserved winner in the end.”