24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
It's funny how live turns out sometimes.
I've always loved riding a bike, but only this year I've learned what it is to train hard and train the right way. I know I still have a lot of potential left.
Team 3M had no more room for me, and I don't blame them. I understand managing a team is mostly economics. But that didn't help me.
An Offer I Couldn't Accept
Just a few days ago, I got the most horrible offer. I won't mention any names, for several reasons, but I have to share this with the world. I think it's a disgrace and not something I'd ever consider.
A team approached me. They said they wanted a meeting to talk about a possible contract. I was delighted, of course. At first... When I met them, there was something off. And then the ugly creature roared its head.
"Of course, you'd have to finance for your own wage."
I was stunned. I said I'd call them but I didn't. If this is the way it's done, I don't want in. I talked to some guys I know and they said that's the way it goes too often in the lower leagues of cycling. I can't understand that. It's dramatic.
I refused and decided then and there to step out of this world of cycling. So beautiful, yet so tainted at times.
South by Southeast
Just as I was ready to back off and find a real job, my manager called me. He had been talking with someone. A real offer this time. No high wage at all, though. In fact, less than I'd make finding a job with my diploma. And I'd have to move to Italy for a big part of the season. But it was a job riding a bike.
I didn't need time to think it over. My performances in the U23 race in Italy has not gone unnoticed. PCT Team Southeast still had one spot left and decided to give it to this Belgian climber. I can't express how thankful I am to them.
And so I face an amazing season in the PCT, with chances to get some real experience in .HC and perhaps already even WT races. I can't wait, to be honest. More professional guidance and equipment. Ride alongside Ponzi, Pirazzi, Owain Doull, Steff Cras (who I've met before in Belgium), Monsalve and others... Amazing.
They arranged a small flat for me in Italy, but I'll be home enough, too. For me, it's a logical step. In Belgium, no team would want me. But in Italy, where the mountains pop out of the ground, I can finally be myself, and not struggle against mistaken expectations.
Sadly that first offer is way to common for newbie graduates in any profession. It's called unpaid internships... Glad he found a home for next season (like we knew we would).
So Southeast.
The kit looks good, I tell you that.
It's a real professional team, too. There's so many things I've picked up already. And I've only been here for - what is it? - 3 months and a half? Something like that.
So today's my birthday. 22th of February. I turn 23 today and I'm glad to be back home to celebrate. Italy has been great for my career, but it's not home and sometimes that's a bit tough.
I can only imagine riders from like Australia trying to make it professionally. You hear these stories they come here to make it. So far from home.
So I really can't complain. Italy is still nearby. Sort of.
First Races
So I already got my first races behind me for Southeast. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, had problems with internet in my flat in Italy. I've been busy, too.
I was sent Down Under to race in the Evans Great Ocean Race, followed by the Herald Sun Tour.
Eager to prove my new employer they made the right choice, I tried to get in the break of the day in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race.
It wasn't easy. First race of the season for many, so everyone wanted to test their legs a first time.
I persisted as long as I could, but after a struggle of 44 kilometers, I was caught by the peloton for the third time. This time, I knew I was done. Unfortunate, but what can you do.
The Herald Sun Tour was important to our team, so I did the necessary work of collecting bottles. Nothing important, still I managed to get a 28th place for myself in the General Classification, second of the team.
My first race in Italy wasn't one for the history books either. The pace was too high for me to do anything useful for our team leader, so I just had to sit it out, and finish just inside the top 100. No flying start with Southeast for me.
Coming Soon
And so, on my birthday, I feel like I'll have a tough season. The PCT is something else than the U23 league and I feel it. The pace is way higher, it's hard to keep up at times.
But I'm learning. I feel I'm improving, and as long as I improve, there's hope.
My next race will be important, both to the sponsor and myself. The Tour of Langkawi. The two mountain stages should suit me.
After that, I'll be aiming for Coppi e Bartali, the stage race in Italy. And after that, I'm going to Giro del Trentino, a mountainous race of .HC level. I have no idea what that'll be like, but I'm happy there's still two months before it starts. I've got a lot of work to do before I'm ready for it.
trekbmc wrote: Southwest will be really nice for Jonas, hopefully he can prove that he can stay in the pro peloton. .
Am I the only one... Forget it.
Good for you to sign with a team after hitting such a low, now to move on and keep moving forward!
Edited by jandal7 on 07-01-2016 19:23
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Let me get straight to the point. I've just returned from Tour de Langkawi and there's been some interesting things going on!
Tour de Langkawi
Southeast gave me a free role going into the race. I would try to target the general classification and see where I end up.
Early on in the first stage, I saw an opportunity to grab some KoM points, and I didn't hesitate.
In retrospect, this was the right move. Because later in the opening race, I had a flat tire at a wrong time and ended up losing almost eight minutes on the peloton.
Any GC hopes were shut down instantly. But I had those 28 mountain points and still seven stages left.
Two stages in particular deserve their individual story:
Tour de Langkawi - Stage 3
I wasn't a threat to those going for the GC, if I even was before, so on the climb, I decided to try and get ahead a bit. Worst case scenario: I pick up a few extra KoM points.
The favorites hesitates long enough and I was going into the final 10 km with a small gap. Could this be the day?
As happens too often, I got caught close to the finish. Petilli and Busato caught up with me. Busato being a team mate, we had the advantage of 2 against 1. We decided to play it out and he ended up taking the victory. I had to settle for third.
An Italian riding for an Italian team, you see. Team orders. But I was now in the mountain jersey and we had won the stage. So it was a good day, in the end. Busato even took the lead in the general classification!
Result
1
Matteo Busato
Southeast
3h41'44
2
Simone Petilli
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
s.t.
3
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Southeast
s.t.
4
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 36
5
Jackson Rodriguez
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
6
Jai Crawford
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
7
Sam Spokes
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
8
Rasmus Guldhammer
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
+ 2'00
9
Victor Campenaerts
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
10
Maximilian Werda
Team Stölting
s.t.
General Classification
1
Matteo Busato
Southeast
10h29'05
2
Simone Petilli
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
+ 4
3
Jackson Rodriguez
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 46
4
Jai Crawford
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
5
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
s.t.
6
Sam Spokes
Drapac Professional Cycling
s.t.
7
Rasmus Guldhammer
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
+ 2'10
8
Maximilian Werda
Team Stölting
s.t.
9
Victor Campenaerts
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
10
Otto Vergaerde
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
s.t.
(...)
45
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Southeast
+ 7'53
Mountain Classification
1
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Southeast
54
2
Kasper Linde
Riwal Platform Cycling Team
34
3
Jan Oelerich
Team Stölting
30
4
Sander Helven
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
28
5
Thomas Koep
Team Stölting
28
Tour de Langkawi - Stage 5
And then came the second mountain stage, two days later. My GC was still ruined, but we had Busato's lead to defend.
I must admit I made a mistake that day. I did. I wasn't a threat to anyone and on the final ascent, I tried to sneak away about halfway the climb, still relatively far from the finish.
But my team mate was in the leader's jersey. I know I should've stuck with him. At that moment, it seemed right, though.
Fairly soon, I caught up with the break of the day.
I left them behind pretty quick, too. I was now leading the race. The finish was drawing nearer.
Coming up the final kilometers, I noticed a small dot coming closer slowly. The dot became bigger and finally, in the very last kilometer, Petilli was as good as caught up! I didn't know what to do. It was frustrating, this has happened too often!
So I played it cool. I lowered the pace a bit and tried to save a little bit for the final sprint. I could play the team card now, too. My team mate, the leader, was behind. His main opponent was here, so why should I ride with him?
He kept riding, trying to get as much time as he could. In the final few meters, I summoned all the strength I had... And I crossed the finish line first!
It was an amazing feeling! I have won once before, but that was a GC in a U23 race. This is something of another level. A mountain stage in a .HC race, riding away halfway the climb, getting caught but finishing it off nonetheless! I was ecstatic!
My first real, professional victory! And that in my first real professional year! (2nd season if you count the continental season with 3M last year)
I couldn't believe my eyes and the podium ceremony was fantastic. It felt good to be up there. Even though there wasn't too many people around. Maybe because of it, actually!
Result
1
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Southeast
3h21'49
2
Simone Petilli
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
s.t.
3
Jackson Rodriguez
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 2'24
4
Yonder Godoy
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 2'54
5
Victor Campenaerts
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
+ 3'35
6
Jai Crawford
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 3'45
7
Emanuele Sella
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
s.t.
8
Sam Spokes
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 4'47
9
Matteo Busato
Southeast
+ 5'05
10
Rasmus Guldhammer
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
+ 6'11
Rest of the Race
With only flat stages left, nothing major happened after that mountain stage. And so I finished the race in the Mountain Jersey and with a stage win to my name!
Final Classification
1
Simone Petilli
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
29h02'03
2
Jackson Rodriguez
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 3'08
3
Jai Crawford
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 4'33
4
Matteo Busato
Southeast
+ 5'07
5
Sam Spokes
Drapac Professional Cycling
+ 5'35
6
Victor Campenaerts
Topsport Vlaanderen - Baloise
+ 5'47
7
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Team LottoNL - Jumbo
+ 6'59
8
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Southeast
+ 7'45
9
Emanuele Sella
Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela
+ 7'53
10
Rasmus Guldhammer
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
+ 8'23
Mountain Classification
1
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Southeast
74
2
Lukasz Bodnar
ActiveJet Team
40
3
Kasper Linde
Riwal Platform Cycling Team
34
4
Jan Oelerich
Team Stölting
30
5
Simone Petilli
Team Unieuro Wilier Trevigiani
28
Aftermath
After the race, though, I had some problems. The team was not happy with me abandoning Busato on that climb. Busato, in particular, was not amused. The team manager said there might be consequences. I was brought in for a long talk.
Eventually, after a few days of waiting in tension, they decided to forget the whole thing. Busato was not in position to win the race anyway, losing 5 minutes that day. Even with my help, he couldn't have won. I gave the team another victory and I even played a role in Busato's victory earlier, so the team let me off. But I have been warned, and I understand. Loyalties. Can be a dangerous game.
Still, I'm very happy at the moment. It's a moment I'll treasure forever. Crossing the finish line on those mountain slopes was a fantastic feeling and I still re-live it every evening, thinking about it in my bed.
For a minute I thought: what if I hadn't lost that time on stage 1? But they'd never have given me that room, so it's not wise to ask those questions. I'm happy with what happened!
Step Up?
And it even got better. After deciding not to punish me, the team management actually decided to give me a chance in a WT race later this year. I'll be starting in the Tour de Suisse. I'm not sure about my role yet. If it's just as a domestique, you can be sure I'll do my work and not go rogue. Either way it's a formidable chance to get to race in a WT race.
I'll have to adjust my season goals and fitness build-up. Tour de Suisse is now my crown jewel this season. I can't wait!
Glad he found a home for next season (like we knew we would). 
Tour de Langkawi 
