"This medal would have meant more to me than to him" - Teammate heartbreak at Cyclocross Europeans between Pim Ronhaar and Lars van der Haar

Pim Ronhaar has complained in the past few weeks that he was disheartened by his lack of improvement and he didn't know what was wrong. Today at the European Championships he put in a great performance, but lost his spot on the podium at the finishing straight to teammate Lars van der Haar.

“The national coach told me that I had to race a little more conservatively, but at a certain point we couldn't let Michael Vanthourenhout ride further away," Ronhaar told CyclingOnline after the race in Pontchâteau. "The British Cameron Mason was with us, but Lars was missing. I wanted to wait, but Mason rode on. Due to a flat tire I had to let go and in the end even third place slipped out of my hands."

With the Belgians not starting the chase on Vanthourenhout, it was Cameron Mason and Ronhaar that attacked from the chasing group and exploded the race. What followed was a brilliant performance by the Baloise - Trek Lions rider who remained in the podium fight until the very end, whilst the likes of Eli Iserbyt and Thibau Nys for example were quite far from the front. Ronhaar hoped to get the third place, but teammate - both in team and national team - Lars van der Haar snatched the resut in the finishing straight.

“It is what it is. I was hoping that Lars would give me third place, but this is not a place to give presents," Ronhaar says, having crossed the line clearly displeased with the situation. It was a very tough hit to take he says: "It remains a European Championship medal. But I do think that this medal would have meant more to me than to him, given his honors list among the elite. I certainly didn't feel inferior, but it is what it is.”

Hence he had to settle with fourth on the day, a nevertheless still very strong result, but one that hasn't earned him a medal. “I leave France with a good feeling. The podium place in Waterloo and this near-medal give courage."

"Although it is annoying that I am quite changeable, there are also very bad days. I'm having my blood tested this week. Let's see if something comes out of that," the Dutchman concludes, in an attempt to get to the bottom of the reason for his inconsistencies.