This week, 29 riders of the team will participate in the races for the national titles and this in eleven different countries. The time trial events are held from Tuesday to Friday, with the road races taking place from Friday to Sunday.
Taco van der Hoorn (9th in 2020), Corné van Kessel (7th in 2020) and Boy van Poppel (5th in 2021) return to the Col du VAM, in Drenthe, where they each finished in the top ten of the two previous editions. This year, the local circuit is slightly longer and there’s only one passage on the short cobbled climb per lap.
« It is my twelfth participation in the road race and each year there's a big battle for the early breakaway. Afterwards, the race starts a second time in the final. On the course around the Col du VAM there's a high probability that this scenario will be repeated. With one acceleration on the climb the race can be shaken up, changing the situation fast. But this doesn't mean that we won't play a role in the beginning. Anticipation is Taco's speciality and Corné is always motivated to play a role. The three of us will do what we can to make it difficult for the well represented teams. Like last year for example, when I battled against three riders of Jumbo-Visma in the final 5 kilometer. »
