"I'd love to do a drag race": Track star Harrie Lavreysen challenges Olav Kooij to a duel
Track Cycling
At 28 years of age, Harrie Lavreysen is already a legend of track cycling and on the day he retires, they'll most likely build him a statue in his birth city Luyksgestel. With 5 Olympic gold medals, 20 rainbow jerseys and 14 european titles, the Dutchman's palmares will be hard, if not impossible to match for anyone who will come after him. And he's far from done winning races.
If track sprinters excel at something, it's the absolute power they can push through their pedals in a very short period of time. Capable of reaching speeds greater than 80 kilometers per hour on the closed track, these men have incredible power in their legs. And that also reflects in the size of their muscles. That comes with its own share of struggles.
In an interview with the podcast De Grote Plaats, Harrie Lavyresen shares his day-to-day life experience: "Jeans were always a problem, because I always had trouble finding them. In recent years, wider trousers have been perfect for me; they're made for me."
Lavreysen pushes eight hundred kilograms with both legs. "I sometimes ride a city bike, but I've kicked my chain through on those. Especially on an older bike, I have to be extremely careful. If I think: I can just quickly cross the street, I really shouldn't. Then I'm just pedaling too hard, and the bike can't handle it," he laughs.
Track cycling is completely different from road cycling, says Lavreysen. "I can push 800 kilos with both legs. Our wattages are literally comparable to road cycling, but we're two completely different sports. Everything I do is geared towards a maximum of one minute."
Track sprinting is much more of a strength sport in that respect. "A road sprinter can also do seventy kilometers, but they've already been cycling for a long time and are being driven by a sprint train. We push ourselves hard in a much shorter time. Road sprinters constantly expand their engine, while we constantly engage our anaerobic energy. We expel all the energy in our muscles at once."
Up for a challenge
Lavreysen confides he would like to have a test of speed against the road sprinters, although he can already outline the turn of events: "We can go from a standstill to eighty kilometers per hour in thirty seconds. I'd love to do a drag race sometime." He continues: If we start from a standstill, you'll see a bizarre difference. I'll be ahead by a hundred meters. But after a kilometer or two, they'll have passed me again."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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