Hey, thanks for taking the time to read this. Just a few words beforehand.
It's been a while since I attempted a solo-story. Of course, Mresuperstar and I have been writing The Two of Us, but that's something else entirely. I've also been busy organising and writing for Cyclo-Cross: A New Dawn. However great those things are - and believe me, neither of them are going anywhere any time soon - I still wanted to try writing a traditional one-rider story again. Life gets busier, especially when graduation nears and life picks up on a few things. So the big unknown is ahead of me. I have no idea how that will reflect on this story, all I can say is I want to try to make this work. Any pace possible. Most stories die out before their time. But there are exceptions. Whether this is one, I do not know. We never know, we can only try.
I've had some fun stories with Van Gent or other one/two-rider stories, but I want to try something else here. I used to be a decent cyclist/climber when I was younger and I often wonder: what could've been. This story is a fantasy scenario of what my life could've been had I chosen the bike and nothing but the bike. Some parts will be autobiographic, others fantasy. This is not a story of a future Tour de France winner, or a big star in cycling. Rather of a not-so-bad rider, trying to come up in the hard world of cycling. Based on my strengths and weaknesses (but, of course, higher than my real life current shape ) and also limits.
Not to spoil too much, but for example I've already set the stat limits and, believe me, there is not a stat in the 80. The main stat doesn't even quite reach that high a number. I'll also slow down progression because Be a Pro goes too fast. So there'll be some editing, just trying to reconstruct what could've been.
One last thing, on the title. Just to make absolute clear: it's meant to be ironic. Things like 'The One' I find ridiculous and that's why I picked this title. Cycling is a hard world and you have to work so hard, sacrifice so much. It's a long, tough road to the top and 99,9% don't even get there. So that's why I tried to go with irony of "The Chosen One". You don't get chosen, you take a choice and spend a decade doing everything you can and most of the time, you have to settle for less than you thought.
This title is actually reverse: it's about my life had I chosen cycling. The chosen road, the chosen one
Also, it's a bit of a joke considering my reputation of story-writing. I've always been writing stories about stars, breaking records, being the absolute best. And now I pick this title and it's not at all so.
Thanks for reading and perhaps following. Hope I can keep you entertained. Enjoy my fake autobiography!
Hello,
My name's Jonas Van Maldeghem and I'm 21 years old. The 2015 cycling season is about to start and I'm proud to present that I'll be a part of the new peloton. It's been a struggle but I've finally managed to land a contract with a Continental Team. This year, I'll be finishing my studies while also riding my first cycling season with a Continental Team.
I'll be using this blogspace to keep track of my professional career. The life of a cyclist. It's always been fascinating to me, and now I'll be able to live it. Mind you, it's a hard life, or so I've been warned. But I think I'm ready for it.
Ancient History
Now how did I get here? Without boring you with the details, let's say I've grown up in a family where a racing bike - or any bike by that matter - is almost holy. My father raced his bike to work every day, going over 80 km a day. During the weekends, he'd really get going, with rides over 150 km. As soon as me and my brother were old enough, we went on cycling trips. First with our city bikes, later with race bikes.
Mariakerke, suburbs of Ghent.
When I was 12 years old, we were on holiday in Southern France, as usual, when suddenly, my dad put me on an old bike, a model of the late 60s, with the gearing at your knees. "This is Alpe d'Huez", he said. It was my first mountain and I rode it to the top without stopping, on that old bike. I did it in an hour and 10 minutes. Of course, I'd break that time easily years later, but it was the start of a passion.
I always looked forward to the holidays, as we always went to the Alpes or the Pyrenees for two-three weeks. Every year again, I'd ride more and more climbs. I did the Tourmalet, Col d'Allos, Mont Ventoux, Pra Loup, Pla d'Adet and many more. When back in Belgium, we used to go to the Flemish Ardennes to test the legs on the smaller climbs. This was great, but the big mountains always interested me more. Still, the passion only grew. And then it was time to take it to the next level.
Alpe d'Huez, my first climb.
I joined a club and started racing. This was not easy, let me tell you. You don't find a mountain in Belgium, and my flat riding is nothing out of the ordinary, so I flew under the radar a long time. Righteously so in these Kermiskoersen, but I knew I had talent elsewhere.
After doing a few races in the Ardennes, though, things were looking up. To make a long story short: It got me where I am today. A signed contract with a Continental Team. And I hope that's just the beginning.
Strengths & Weaknesses
When you're young, it's not easy to know what specialty you have. Except that it's clear as ice water for me. I'm a climber. No question about it. Don't know if I'll make a good climber, don't know if I'll make a decent climber. But I can become a better climber, and that's what I'm trying to achieve.
Strengths - So let's start off with what I can do best. I don't weigh much, I'm very thin and I love the mountains. My weight also makes me great at accelerating. Up a mountain but also coming out of a corner. I've been at it a long time so I'm rather technical, too. Riding in the Flemish Ardennes so long pays off when you have to go through corners or go downhill a mountain. These are things I can do well.
Weaknesses - But that don't make me no Alberto Contador, let me tell you that. I've got a lot to work on. Riding on the flat is not that well, since I don't have that absolute power wattage. I never spend any time on a time-trial bike, either. I've been on several longer trips but over 175-200 km and my engine says "pffrrt". I've got to work on my stamina but I don't have a lot of body so I've got to eat and drink like crazy to avoid crashing and burning during a ride. It's not easy for me.
Unknown - I've been riding those short hills in the Ardennes a long time. I can race up them quite good, but how will it hold up against real professionals? Maybe the Ardennes hills suit me better, but even so, I get better when a climb is over 5 km long, a real mountain. Cobbles is another thing, I enjoy them so much, I really do, despite not weighing too much. But despite enjoying them and going over them quite smoothly, I've noticed others going way faster in a race.
There's much to discover, and much work to be done.
So I'll best get to it!
Next time, I'll tell all about this time I signed with. And I'll probably have a better look at my season calendar, too. Very excited about it. But got to hit the books, now. Still got university besides this life of ..."glamour".
See you around,
Jonas
Edited by Ian Butler on 14-01-2016 10:53
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Daily Song Contest WINNER! With Foals - Mountain at my Gates with Greece! 1 like 1 girlfriend ''I call you the stage god. You are the stage god.'' -baseballover312, 15.07.2016
With the Christmas holidays coming up, I've got some busy days ahead of me. First of all, I just had the first training camp with the guys. I'm not really a social type so it was a bit strange in the beginning. I can say some nonchalant things and if you don't know me, it might be perceived as rude. But there were no big incidents and everything's been cleared out so we're ready to go.
But I've also got exams coming up in January. The school has been so kind to give me a special schedule so I can combine my exams with racing perfectly. Yes, the team wants me out there in January already. More on that later in this post.
The third thing is, obviously, Christmas itself. It's a strange time in my life. For now, though, I'll be staying at home, with the parents. At least until I graduate, later this year. So for now, the holidays will need to be pushed to the bakground so I can concentrate on this wonderful thing called: cycling!
Team 3M
As for the upcoming year, I'll be defending the colors of Team 3M. It's a Belgian team, but with a nice calendar going abroad enough to see some mountains. They want to launch young riders a bit like Topsport Vlaanderen does. I didn't make it into Topsport Vlaanderen, but they told Team 3M about me and managed to get me a contract here, and they said they'll be keeping an eye out for me. So if I do well, perhaps I can jump on the Topsport Vlaanderen project when I get my career going. There are worse places to end up!
But for now, it's Team 3M, and I don't regret it for a second! The management is really good with young riders and they'll give me every chance to grow here. I almost ended up with an Italian Continental Team and - while it would've been exciting - I'm happy I can keep living at home for now.
I hope I can make some new friends in this team, I think I can. I overheard one guy talking about Pro Cycling Manager, a game I used to play myself, so maybe we'll get along fine. Anyway, I'll have to see how it goes, can't force anything here.
All I know is the workload will be tremendous. This training camp might've started out casually, but it quickly turned into a brutal exercise over Flemish roads. I got in trouble once and was left behind, I felt a bit ashamed. But in the end, we're all young guys and it happened to several riders at one point or another. We're all here to learn.
So it'll take some getting used to, but this is my new family for the upcoming year. I hope we can learn from each other and grow as a team. We don't just want to be along for the ride, no. We want to put Team 3M on the map with some good results.
Schedules
And that brings us to race schedules. Of course, much will still change, so the management doesn't like to give us a detailed overview of what specific races, rather a general trend we'll follow. For me, it's the following.
In January, I'll be going down to Spain. I'll try to get some studying done there, as well as some training. There is this new three-day competition there, too. Three rounds spread over three races, and the team signed me up for it, while I'm there anyway. So I'll be getting my first racing there, without any pressure. After that I'm returning home to do my exams.
In March, most likely, I'll start racing again. Probably with a .2 race in the Netherlands, followed by Grand Prix of Sochi in Russia, a stage race. After that, I'll get into the 2.2U23 scene with Le Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux. I'll definitely race Liège - Bastogne - Liège U23, too, which is one of my season goals for sure!
I'll mostly ride .2 and 2.2U23/1.2U23 races, including Circuit de Wallonie and, another of my season goals, the mountainous race called Tour de Pays de Savoie (which Louis Vervaecke won last year!). All short stages, mostly uphill, perfect for me at the moment. That's where I want to see how I can do against my contemporaries in the mountains.
I'll end my season with some .1 races, including Druivenkoers and GP de Wallonie, which will have a better start field than the U23 or .2 races. Paris - Tours Espoirs is probably my final race of the season. I'm not sure to start there yet but Paris - Tours is one of my favorite races so I really want to compete in the U23 event, if I can.
Well, I'll see you in the new year. I'll try to get back to you from Spain and tell you how the 3-round Trophy went. Don't expect me to pop up in the headlines, but know I'll be in that peloton somewhere, probably hurting like crazy and worrying about my math exam or something. It's all a part of life, I guess.
I'm back in Belgium. My trip to Spain has been rather successful; found plenty of time to crack the books and got some good training done. I feel I made a huge step forward already. But that's not why I'm making this blog.
It's not UCI-official so it doesn't count for the European Continental Rankings or it isn't a real official race but I got my first races for Team 3M over with. A nice initiative called the San Sebastian Trophy, three rounds of races.
San Sebastian Trophy
The first race was rather hilly. Of course, this being my first race with a peloton of all ages and top riders like Bjorn Leukemans here, I was just here to fill the pack, but mostly to enjoy my first real racing experiences.
The first race was extremely tough on me. I didn't know people could ride that hard. I was dead before the actual climbing started, and I finished 10 minutes down on the race winner. Little time to enjoy, but a valuable lesson learned. You don't enjoy a cycling race unless you're the fastest. Everyone else is just trying to keep up.
The second race was quite flat-ish and I did better. The race only got going for real in the last 20 km, leading up to the sprint. However a late attacker won the race and I finished the race inside the pack. Growth!
But then came the third race. Another hilly affair, even more so than the first race. It was raining cats and dogs at the start. Luckily the race was only about 130 km, a perfect length for a rider of my age. Not too long.
Two guys went up the road. And, then, on the second climb of three, I felt the pace wasn't extremely high and there was room to improve on that. So I went to the front and attacked!
It was a good feeling.
Unfortunately, the finish was still 57 km away and the peloton had no problem picking me up only 5 km later. I never even saw the head of the race but at least I made an impact of some sort on the race, right?
I finished the race in 35th position, which is actually pretty nice, seeing how I wasted a lot of energy with that attack. I'm quite happy with my achievement in this round.
San Sebastian Trophy - Round 1
1
Björn Leukemans
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
3h40'08
2
Omar Fraile
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
3
Stefano Pirazzi
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
4
Marco Marcato
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
5
Enrico Battaglin
Bardiani CSF
+ 39
6
Francesco Gavazzi
Southeast
s.t.
7
Carlos Barbero
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
8
Damiano Cunego
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
9
Kamil Gradek
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
10
Marco Minnaard
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Marc De Maar
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
12
Fabio Duarte
Colombia
s.t.
13
David Belda
Burgos - BH
s.t.
14
David Arroyo
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
15
Sébastien Delfosse
Wallonie - Bruxelles
+ 2'42
16
Mirko Selvaggi
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
17
Florent Delfosse
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
18
Luca Sterbini
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
19
Dimitri Claeys
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
20
Huub Duyn
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
21
Olivier Pardini
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
22
Antoine Demoitié
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
23
Michael Vingerling
Team 3M
s.t.
24
Dominique Cornu
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
25
Rasmus Guldhammer
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
+ 3'28
26
Christophe Premont
Vérandas Willems
+ 4'06
27
Alessandro Petacchi
Southeast
s.t.
28
Steven Tronet
Auber 93
s.t.
29
Alessandro Malaguti
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
30
Jakub Mareczko
Southeast
s.t.
31
Dylan Groenewegen
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
32
Martin Mortensen
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
33
Shiki Kuroeda
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
34
Juan Carlos Riutort
Burgos - BH
s.t.
35
Rafael de Mattos Andriato
Southeast
s.t.
36
Sebastian Molano
Colombia
s.t.
37
Martijn Degreve
Team 3M
s.t.
38
Pablo Torres
Burgos - BH
s.t.
39
Ludwig De Winter
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
40
Riccardo Stacchiotti
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
41
Théo Vimpère
Auber 93
s.t.
42
Romain Lemarchand
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
43
Linus Gerdemann
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
44
Jesper Asselman
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
45
Juan Pablo Valencia
Colombia
s.t.
46
Eugert Zhupa
Southeast
s.t.
47
Dario Hernandez
Burgos - BH
s.t.
48
Simone Antonini
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
49
Yannick Eijssen
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
50
Edward Diaz
Colombia
s.t.
51
Brayan Ramirez
Colombia
s.t.
52
Heiner Parra
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
53
Alexander Rybakov
RusVelo
+ 4'53
54
Andrey Solomennikov
RusVelo
s.t.
55
Ildar Arslanov
RusVelo
s.t.
56
Diego León Cuervo
Burgos - BH
s.t.
57
Sergey Firsanov
RusVelo
s.t.
58
Fabian Morianz
Tirol Cycling Team
+ 5'40
59
Flavien Dassonville
Auber 93
s.t.
60
Maxime Renault
Auber 93
s.t.
61
Timon Van Reek
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
62
Giorgio Cecchinel
Southeast
s.t.
63
Jesus Ezquerra
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
64
Rasmus Christian Quaade
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
65
Ronan Van Zandbeek
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
66
Troels Vinther
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
67
Loïc Hennaux
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
+ 6'28
68
Martin Weiss
Tirol Cycling Team
+ 7'13
69
Antonio Molina
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
70
Elliott Porter
Team 3M
s.t.
71
Andrea Manfredi
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
72
Igor Boev
RusVelo
s.t.
73
Mario Gonzalez
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
74
Nicolas Marini
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
75
Paolo Simion
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
76
Melvin Van Zijl
Team 3M
s.t.
77
Brian Van Goethem
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
78
Lukasz Bodnar
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
79
Berden De Vries
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
80
Roman Kustadinchev
RusVelo
s.t.
81
Julien Kaise
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
82
Camilo Castiblanco
Colombia
s.t.
83
César Bihel
Auber 93
+ 8'16
84
Ike Groen
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
85
Konrad Dabkowski
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
86
Alo Jakin
Auber 93
+ 9'04
87
Hugh Carthy
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
88
Patric Schultus
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
89
Jérôme Kerf
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
90
Alessandro Tonelli
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
91
Mario Schoibl
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
92
Gaëtan Pons
Wallonie - Bruxelles
+ 9'33
93
Dylan Van Zijl
Team 3M
s.t.
94
Taco Van Der Hoorn
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
95
Thomas Wertz
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
96
David Muntaner
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
97
Jonathan Dufrasne
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
98
Elias Van Breussegem
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
99
Kobus Hereijgers
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
100
David Wöhrer
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
101
Ander Arranz
Burgos - BH
s.t.
102
Franklin Six
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
+ 10'49
103
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
s.t.
104
Charlie Arimont
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
+ 12'37
105
Gino Vierhouten
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
106
Mattia Pozzo
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
107
Sebastian Schönberger
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
108
Martin Palm
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
+ 15'51
San Sebastian Trophy - Round 2
1
Guillaume Levarlet
Auber 93
3h01'37
2
Yonnatta Monsalve
Southeast
+ 29
3
Roy Jans
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
4
Iuri Filosi
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
5
Pawel Bernas
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
6
Luca Chirico
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
7
Sébastien Delfosse
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
8
Steven Tronet
Auber 93
s.t.
9
Leonardo Duque
Colombia
s.t.
10
Geert Van Der Weijst
Team 3M
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Eduard Prades
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
12
Francesco Gavazzi
Southeast
s.t.
13
Kevyn Ista
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
14
Javier Aramendia
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
15
Joeri Calleeuw
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
16
José Gonçalves
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
17
Johnny Hoogerland
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
18
Mads Pedersen
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
19
Konrad Dabkowski
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
20
Martijn Degreve
Team 3M
s.t.
21
Tom Dernies
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
22
Martin Mortensen
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
23
Russell Downing
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
24
Enrico Gasparotto
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
25
Gertjan De Vos
Team 3M
s.t.
26
Dimitri Claeys
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
27
Carlos Barbero
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
28
Hugh Carthy
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
29
Stefano Pirazzi
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
30
Juan Carlos Riutort
Burgos - BH
s.t.
31
Julien Guay
Auber 93
s.t.
32
Lionel Taminiaux
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
33
Christophe Sleurs
Team 3M
s.t.
34
Kirill Pozdnyakov
RusVelo
s.t.
35
Grégory Habeaux
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
36
Jesus Del Pino
Burgos - BH
s.t.
37
Linus Gerdemann
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
38
Emiel Vermeulen
Team 3M
s.t.
39
Frederique Robert
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
40
Dominique Cornu
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
41
Igor Merino
Burgos - BH
s.t.
42
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
s.t.
43
Martin Weiss
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
44
Patrick Bosman
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
45
Jimmy Duquennoy
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
46
Kai Reus
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
47
Petr Ignatenko
RusVelo
s.t.
48
Artem Ovechkin
RusVelo
s.t.
49
Giacomo Berlato
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
50
Sergey Firsanov
RusVelo
s.t.
51
Julien Kaise
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
52
Ildar Arslanov
RusVelo
s.t.
53
Gustav Larsson
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
54
Arkadiusz Owsian
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
55
Fabio Duarte
Colombia
s.t.
56
Flavien Dassonville
Auber 93
s.t.
57
Christian Mager
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
58
Andrea Piechele
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
59
Daan Myngheer
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
60
Coen Vermeltfoort
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
61
Tom Devriendt
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
62
Luca Sterbini
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
63
André Looij
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
64
Taco Van Der Hoorn
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
65
Tomasz Mickiewicz
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
66
Luca Wackermann
Southeast
s.t.
67
Maxime Anciaux
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
68
Jan Ghyselinck
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
69
Stefan Praxmarer
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
70
Ricardo Vilela
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
71
Thomas De Troch
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
72
Alo Jakin
Auber 93
s.t.
73
Mario Schoibl
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
74
Thomas Wertz
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
75
César Bihel
Auber 93
s.t.
76
David Muntaner
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
77
Lander Seynaeve
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
78
Robbert De Greef
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
79
Daniel Martinez
Colombia
s.t.
80
Markus Freiberger
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
81
Ramon Carretero
Southeast
s.t.
82
Aleksandr Komin
RusVelo
s.t.
83
Ibai Salas
Burgos - BH
s.t.
84
Daan Meijers
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
85
Michel Kreder
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
+ 2'58
86
Etienne Van Empel
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
87
Huub Duyn
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
88
Kobus Hereijgers
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
89
Manabu Ishibashi
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
90
Loïc Hennaux
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
91
Gino Vierhouten
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
92
Paolo Simion
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
93
Sebastian Mascaro
Burgos - BH
s.t.
94
Florian Schipflinger
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
95
Edoardo Zardini
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
96
Ander Arranz
Burgos - BH
s.t.
97
Antonio Nibali
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
98
Tom Galle
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
99
Giuseppe Fonzi
Southeast
s.t.
100
Carlos Quintero
Colombia
s.t.
101
Dylan Groenewegen
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
+ 3'40
102
Jonathan Paredes
Colombia
+ 4'27
103
Mattia Pozzo
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
104
Mirko Tedeschi
Southeast
s.t.
105
Carlos Mario Ramirez
Colombia
+ 5'20
106
Genki Yamamoto
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
107
Pawel Brylowski
ActiveJet Team
+ 5'47
108
Martin Palm
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
+ 11'03
San Sebastian Trophy - Round 3
1
Enrico Gasparotto
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
3h26'51
2
Damiano Cunego
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
3
Alex Cano
Colombia
s.t.
4
Enrico Barbin
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
5
Sergio Pardilla
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
6
Eduard Prades
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
7
Miguel Angel Rubiano
Colombia
s.t.
8
Fabio Duarte
Colombia
+ 25
9
Björn Leukemans
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
10
Omar Fraile
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
Spoiler
11
Matteo Busato
Southeast
s.t.
12
Fabricio Ferrari
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
13
Johnny Hoogerland
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
14
Marc De Maar
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
15
Linus Gerdemann
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
16
Kamil Gradek
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
17
Sébastien Delfosse
Wallonie - Bruxelles
+ 1'20
18
Olivier Chevalier
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
19
Russell Downing
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
20
Stefano Pirazzi
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
21
Gaëtan Bille
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
22
Pawel Bernas
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
23
Luca Sterbini
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
24
Emiel Vermeulen
Team 3M
s.t.
25
Mike Terpstra
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
26
Marco Minnaard
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
27
Pierpaolo De Negri
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
+ 3'41
28
Fernando Grijalba
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
+ 4'35
29
Julien Stassen
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
30
Alessandro Malaguti
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
31
Pablo Torres
Burgos - BH
s.t.
32
Daniel Martinez
Colombia
s.t.
33
Artem Ovechkin
RusVelo
s.t.
34
Andrea Piechele
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
35
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
s.t.
36
Darwin Pantoja
Colombia
s.t.
37
Iuri Filosi
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
38
Javier Aramendia
Caja Rural - Seguros RGA
s.t.
39
Tom Dernies
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
40
Jimmy Janssens
Team 3M
s.t.
41
Florent Delfosse
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
42
Joël Zangerle
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
43
Ronan Van Zandbeek
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
44
Dylan Van Zijl
Team 3M
s.t.
45
Alexander Foliforov
RusVelo
s.t.
46
Patrick Bosman
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
47
Andrey Solomennikov
RusVelo
+ 5'47
48
Kevyn Ista
Wallonie - Bruxelles
+ 6'17
49
Edwin Avila
Colombia
s.t.
50
Michal Podlaski
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
51
Tim Kerkhof
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
52
Wesley Kreder
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
53
Juan Carlos Riutort
Burgos - BH
s.t.
54
Alexander Wachter
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
55
Pierre Gouault
Auber 93
s.t.
56
Benjamin Brkic
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
57
Edoardo Zardini
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
58
Jesus Ezquerra
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
59
Giorgio Cecchinel
Southeast
s.t.
60
Théo Vimpère
Auber 93
s.t.
61
Jan Ghyselinck
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
62
Anthony Maldonado
Auber 93
s.t.
63
Rasmus Christian Quaade
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
64
Robbert De Greef
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
65
Reinier Honig
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
66
Olivier Pardini
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
67
Dimitri Claeys
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
68
Manuel Belletti
Southeast
s.t.
69
Steven Tronet
Auber 93
s.t.
70
Christophe Sleurs
Team 3M
s.t.
71
Rafael de Mattos Andriato
Southeast
s.t.
72
Diego León Cuervo
Burgos - BH
s.t.
73
Mattia Pozzo
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
74
Stef Van Zummeren
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
75
Ibai Salas
Burgos - BH
s.t.
76
Elliott Porter
Team 3M
s.t.
77
Kai Reus
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
78
Nicola Ruffoni
Bardiani CSF
s.t.
79
Danilo Napolitano
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
80
Thomas De Troch
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
81
César Bihel
Auber 93
+ 8'35
82
Roman Kustadinchev
RusVelo
+ 9'41
83
Alvaro Robredo
Burgos - BH
s.t.
84
Martin Weiss
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
85
Jetse Bol
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
86
Tom Devriendt
Wanty - Groupe Gobert
s.t.
87
Alex Kirsch
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
+ 11'03
88
Tomasz Mickiewicz
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
89
Coen Vermeltfoort
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
90
Mads Pedersen
CULT Energy Pro Cycling
s.t.
91
Julien Kaise
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
92
Flavien Dassonville
Auber 93
s.t.
93
Gaëtan Pons
Wallonie - Bruxelles
s.t.
94
Anthony Vandrepotte
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
95
Ramon Carretero
Southeast
s.t.
96
Patric Schultus
Tirol Cycling Team
s.t.
97
Franklin Six
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
98
Ivan Balykin
RusVelo
+ 11'31
99
Mamyr Stash
RusVelo
s.t.
100
Gino Vierhouten
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
101
Dex Groen
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
s.t.
102
Genki Yamamoto
NIPPO - Vini Fantini
s.t.
103
Ander Arranz
Burgos - BH
+ 13'01
104
Tom Galle
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
s.t.
105
Arkadiusz Owsian
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
106
Markus Freiberger
Tirol Cycling Team
+ 13'14
107
Martin Palm
Color Code - Aquality-Protect
+ 13'45
108
Mirko Tedeschi
Southeast
+ 14'48
Aftermath
So there I was, feeling pretty good about myself that I pulled off that attack. Some guy, though, came up to me. He asked me about the attack and said: "That's just not how things work." I was taken aback by this for a second. But the guy didn't mean it so bad and he explained how these types of attacks never go anywhere and aren't necessary. It just makes the race harder for everyone and nobody needs them.
I can see his point, some way. I never came too close to the leaders, this race isn't aired anywhere, I won't get a mention in the newspaper. There are unwritten laws in the peloton. Just because I don't agree with them, doesn't mean I can just break them. Because you don't want the peloton against you.
Don't get me wrong, though, the guy was friendly and eager to teach me. Lesson learned. There's more to professional cycling than riding a bike.
And so here I am, back in Belgium. Back at home. It's been a great trip and I got my nose in the wind in the Team 3M kit, which was great. My next race is 8 weeks from now, so I'll have to concentrate on my exams first. I'll see you later.
Unfortunately, the finish was still 57 km away and the peloton had no problem picking me up only 5 km later. I never even saw the head of the race but at least I made an impact of some sort on the race, right?
At least that's how I race irl.
A good start to his/your career though and 3M should be a good team choice.
Wow, I'm stunned. Awesome to see another story, hopefully this story will be the chosen one to last this year, huh ? An up and down start to life in the pack for, erm, you
And of course I can second what trek said, my tactics every time
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
So, it's been a while. First of all, the exams went fairly well. No formidable grades but I pass all classes and so I can graduate in June if all goes well. Let's hope I succeed.
I've got my first official racing done. I started in the Netherlands.
Rabobank Dorpenomloop Rucphen
Preview: A flat-ish circuit in the Netherlands. Though it's tougher than it looks, with a minor ascent on the road. It's up and down all day long, and it's close to 200 km, I'll have to see what I can do.
So I started the race without any big ambitions. Hoping I could do some work for the team. The final 25 km were really hard, we were already at 175 km and the pace only went up.
The peloton split up and I got the wrong side of the split. But overall I managed to finish 21st, so all in all it was a good day for me. Close to 200 km and I survived.
Dorpenomloop - Result
1
Wouter Mol
Cyclingteam Join-S - De Rijke
5h00'39
2
Maurits Lammertink
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
+ 56
3
Maxime Vantomme
Roubaix Lille Métropole
s.t.
4
Marc De Maar
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
5
Nikola Aistrup
Riwal Platform Cycling Team
s.t.
6
Raymond Kreder
Team Roompot-Oranje Peloton
s.t.
7
Jonas Aaen Jörgensen
Riwal Platform Cycling Team
s.t.
8
Mads Christensen
Riwal Platform Cycling Team
s.t.
9
Gorik Gardeyn
Veranclassic - Ekoi
s.t.
10
Eduardo Estrada
D’Amico - Bottecchia
s.t.
(...)
21
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
+ 2'49
So that was it in the Netherlands. It was worth the trip, I think. Gained some more experience and I was getting ready for my first stage race ever.
Grand Prix of Sochi
Preview: My first stage race. The team gave me a free role for this race, no pressure at all. Just do my thing and get through the four days comfortably.
It's quite cold in Russia in March, I tell you that. The first day was quite brutal, with the weather. I finished in the pack comfortably, though.
The time trial was something else. We didn't bring time trial bikes because of the costs, but not a lot of teams did. I spent the entire race fighting against the wind. I finished completely last. I knew this wouldn't be my forte, but it still hurt a bit, finishing dead last.
And so I went into stage 3 with a sense of retribution. I wanted to show the team, most of all, that I have other qualities.
It was a hectic start but four of us managed to get away from the peloton. I was in the break of the day, surely that was a positive thing.
Unfortunately, though, my legs quickly turned to sh*t, pardon my French. I really wasn't feeling very good and by the time we reached the mountain sprints, I couldn't eve accelerate. A lost opportunity.
Still we stayed together and another rider even joined us, another Belgian. By the time we hit the bigger climbs, though, the breakaway group split up completely. I couldn't quite hang on to the better punchers.
I didn't feel like just waiting around for the peloton and so, with a good descent, I managed to rejoin the front group for a while again. But now the peloton was coming, relentlessly.
And so that was the end to a long day. Too bad I had an off-day, otherwise I might've done something more with the mountain sprints. I had to settle for a third spot in the KoM classification, without any real chance of threatening the leader. In the last day, it turned into a shared 3rd spot.
And so my time in Russia came to an end. I'm already looking forward to finally racing in Belgium, though. In just a few day, I'm starting my first 2.2U23 race here in Belgium. I think I can do better there, since I'll be racing my contemporaries, shorter stages and in my home country.
Still, the upcoming race is all about flat riding, so that's not really my style. But I'll try to make most of it. As I always do.
Grand Prix of Sochi - Stage 1
1
Guillaume Boivin
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
4h24'13
2
Stan Godrie
Rabobank Development Team
s.t.
3
Mattia Gavazzi
Amore & Vita - Selle SMP
s.t.
4
Konrad Dabkowski
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
5
Asbjørn Kragh Andersen
Team TREFOR - Blue Water
s.t.
6
Robin Stenuit
Veranclassic - Ekoi
s.t.
7
Søren Kragh Andersen
Team TREFOR - Blue Water
s.t.
8
Ahmet Örken
Torku Seker Spor
s.t.
9
Jeff Vermeulen
Cyclingteam Jo Piels
s.t.
10
Martin Reimer
LKT-Team-Brandenburg
s.t.
(...)
66
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
s.t.
Grand Prix of Sochi - Stage 2
1
Jack Bobridge
Team Budget Forklifts
29'40
2
Tom Zirbel
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
+ 3
3
Arthur Ershov
RusVelo
+ 4
4
Sergey Nikolaev
Itera-Katusha
+ 6
5
Gaëtan Bille
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
6
Maxim Pokidov
Itera-Katusha
+ 10
7
Glenn O'Shea
Team Budget Forklifts
+ 14
8
Gorik Gardeyn
Veranclassic - Ekoi
+ 17
9
Lukasz Bodnar
ActiveJet Team
+ 20
10
Stef Van Zummeren
Vérandas Willems
+ 23
(...)
125
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
+ 3'32
Grand Prix of Sochi - Stage 3
1
Markus Eibegger
Synergy Baku Cycling Project
4h22'36
2
Dominique Cornu
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
3
Sergei Pomoshnikov
Itera-Katusha
s.t.
4
Gaëtan Bille
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
5
Petr Ignatenko
RusVelo
s.t.
6
Sergey Nikolaev
Itera-Katusha
s.t.
7
Alexandr Pliuschin
Synergy Baku Cycling Project
s.t.
8
Romain Combaud
Equipe de l'Armée de Terre
s.t.
9
Pawel Bernas
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
10
Kevin Seeldraeyers
Torku Seker Spor
+ 1'13
(...)
70
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
+ 6'36
Grand Prix of Sochi - Stage 4
1
Konrad Dabkowski
ActiveJet Team
4h20'18
2
Roman Maikin
RusVelo
s.t.
3
Pawel Bernas
ActiveJet Team
s.t.
4
Mattia Gavazzi
Amore & Vita - Selle SMP
s.t.
5
Mamyr Stash
RusVelo
s.t.
6
Justin Jules
Veranclassic - Ekoi
s.t.
7
Ivan Balykin
RusVelo
s.t.
8
Ahmet Örken
Torku Seker Spor
s.t.
9
Martin Reimer
LKT-Team-Brandenburg
s.t.
10
Igor Boev
RusVelo
s.t.
(...)
70
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
s.t.
Grand Prix of Sochi - General Classification
1
Sergey Nikolaev
Itera-Katusha
13h36'53
2
Gaëtan Bille
Vérandas Willems
s.t.
3
Markus Eibegger
Synergy Baku Cycling Project
+ 13
4
Dominique Cornu
Vérandas Willems
+ 19
5
Alexandr Pliuschin
Synergy Baku Cycling Project
+ 29
6
Romain Combaud
Equipe de l'Armée de Terre
+ 1'05
7
Petr Ignatenko
RusVelo
+ 1'08
8
Glenn O'Shea
Team Budget Forklifts
+ 1'59
9
Ioannis Tamouridis
Synergy Baku Cycling Project
+ 2'14
10
Tom Zirbel
Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
+ 2'52
(...)
77
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
+ 10'02
Grand Prix of Sochi - Mountain Classification
1
Benoît Sinner
Equipe de l'Armée de Terre
48
2
Francesco Van Coppernolle
Veranclassic - Ekoi
31
3
Leon Rohde
LKT-Team-Brandenburg
26
4
Jonas Van Maldeghem
Team 3M
26
5
Markus Eibegger
Synergy Baku Cycling Project
16
Aftermath
And so I'm slowly getting used to the rhythm of a professional cyclist. I'm not really impressing a lot, right now, but I'm on the right track. Being in a professional team has really opened my eyes. I think I'm only getting started, now. I've been riding my bike a long time, but I never had professional guidance on my training. I turned 22 a few weeks ago, so there's definitely room for improvement.
Trainer says I might be a late-bloomer anyway. I guess that's good news. I'm really excited what the U23 races will bring later this season. Let's hope I can make a good impression, because those races are usually packed with scouts from ProContinental and even World Tour teams.
For now, though, I'm training my ass off. Hard work, this racket.
first steps in professional cycling look already promising, I can´t wait for the great struggle for polka-dot jerseys, breakaways and uphill finish results in the debut season...Let´s go Jonas
Cheers guys! It's something different for me, riding with a normal human being in this game and not a world talent
It's a lot of fun, though. Especially with still some U23 races on the calendar, where I hope to at least fight for a podium this season!
) and also limits. 
San Sebastian Trophy 
Rabobank Dorpenomloop Rucphen 
Grand Prix of Sochi 
