"I'd love to do a drag race": Track star Harrie Lavreysen challenges Olav Kooij to a duel

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."

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."