My ten highlights from my years at CyclingTips

As my time at CyclingTips comes to an end, it’s time to look back. In this series of ten things, I don’t have much new to add. I have a new luxury bike, but it has the same Trek Domane geometry as the previous one, just a different color. I’m not a tech geek or a gizmo collector. I just ride my bike and if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, I call a mechanic.

No, I wanted to use this space to highlight some of my favorite features and the process behind their creation: from the first to the longest and most memorable. The privilege of being able to ask questions of top athletes and get answers is something I value even more now that this phase is over.

Talented people trusted me with their story, opened up and were honest in their answers. It taught me a valuable lesson about who I am and how people perceive me. Being truly honest and sincere is the most important thing in my life and the fact that riders and readers saw the honesty and sincerity still makes me happy.

The first one

I have known Maike van der Duin since I was eight years old. Since 2010 I have volunteered at the European Junior Cycling Tour Assen, a week-long stage race for riders aged 8 to 18. She won when she was eight and won when she was 18.

When she made the step up to the elite, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was her first race. This was my first on-site assignment for CyclingTips. Now I had also become one of those journalists who hold an iPhone under someone’s nose. Maike never finished that first race (nor did she finish more than half the field), but she will forever be the recipient of the “first article award” from me.

The last one

In three years, I became a different writer. I went from race-oriented pieces to more personality-oriented features, from women’s only – I was hired through Veloclub funds to focus more on women’s cycling – to men’s and women’s later in my career. My goal was to show the person behind the rider. Athletes are often normal people, but sometimes they are not. In each of them there is a strong character to survive the toughest races, the harshest weather conditions and the most terrible injuries.

This May I got to meet Gage Hecht on a trip to Girona. He has just returned from a race in France where he injured his hip. My goal for this trip was to write three articles about faith in cycling from the Athletes in Action branch in Girona. Alison Jackson was one of those pieces, Gage the other. The one with Reverend Todd Henriksen never materialized, although we had a wonderful hour long conversation.

What I love about this latest feature I did for CyclingTips is that Gage opens up about his insecurities, doubts and faith in God. It really shows the man under the helmet. It was a wonderful conversation where we discussed what God means in both of our lives and it led to an open and honest trait that I am very proud of. Writing the last piece in December gives me confidence that God will show me new opportunities as well.

Personal pieces

It’s pretty special that CyclingTips has become a place for me to share my feelings about what cycling means in my life. These are the best “tips” and I think they were so appreciated because they were so recognizable to many of the readers. I got the most reactions for these pieces and that means a lot to me.

My personal favorite is the Gorges de la Nesque. I have to travel to Strade Bianche and from there to Paris-Nice. On the way back I stayed at Camping le Ventoux to write about my favorite road. I was lucky. It was bitterly cold during the nights in March, but on the day I planned the trip, the heavens smiled on me and gave me beautiful weather. I rode the climb, sometimes recording voice messages of what I was feeling and thinking. Overnight, the story came out in one breath. I think this is one of the best things I’ve written.

Jose tries things

After the euphoria of that bike ride in France, I texted Kaylee that I wanted to try the Roubaix cobbles for fun. The date was set in April this year. My friend Chris, who works at SRAM, brought the gear and did the route. He knows every cobbled road in Northern France so it will be fine.

I asked my colleagues Magnus Bäckstedt and Servais Knaven for advice and set about the mission. I will never have the talent for humor like Ian or Johnny, but this article still brings a smile to my face. That day in Roubaix is ​​one of those fond memories I’ve been able to keep thanks to my time here at CyclingTips. We had planned a few more “middle-aged woman does things” articles, but these unfortunately never materialized. Who knows, in the next life, with a little more courage and a more flexible body…

The woman behind the rainbow

Media attention to women’s cycling has grown dramatically in recent years. When I started in 2020, you could still send a direct message to a rider to request an interview, but that’s no longer the case with the professionalization of the sport and the introduction of the press.

This article with Annemiek van Vleuten was related to a press officer and the interview took place in my car. Annemiek needed a ride to the National Championship and I was also going there because of my work with the AG Insurance-NXTG team. I put my phone between us and as we drove to VAM-berg she talked for almost an hour and a half straight. Since we weren’t looking at each other, she opened up and it became a really interesting insight into one of the most amazing women this sport has ever seen. It was my first big feature on the site and also the reason Kaylee invited me to join the staff and write more.

The language barrier

The English-speaking media tends to focus a lot on English-speaking riders. In my case, I could add the Dutch language to that, but when it comes to other languages, it’s quite difficult to do a good full-length interview. I did one in French with Guillaume Martin, which he kindly read before posting to make sure I got it right. I also did one in Spanish with Mavi Garcia.

Remember that hot Strade Bianche that happened after the Covid lockdown in 2020? The one that Mavi almost won? I was adamant that I wanted her story. I had her phone number, but I just wasn’t confident enough to do an interview in Spanish. Luckily I know a lot of nice people from Spain through my Twitter account and so Yolanda helped me.

Mavi sent me voicemails in Spanish, which I understood 50% of. Yolanda filled in the gaps and together we were able to publish this article shortly after the final of the competition. This became one of those “getting to know” articles that gets clicked on a lot because there wasn’t much available about Mavi García in English.

The new kid

I’ve always tried to find riders who are new to the scene and – in my opinion – would do something really big later in the year. These articles don’t get much attention when they’re published because these are very unknown riders, but they usually go viral afterwards.

Biniam Girmai was one of them. I met the nicest guy on Zoom, soft spoken but wise beyond his years while he was back home in Eritrea. He was open about his background, down to earth about his talent and honest about the struggles he faced as an African rider. It was a great interview and I became an instant fan. Later that year Binny won Gent-Wevelgem and the CyclingTips article was one of the first long articles about him. There were many “late hits”.

The Belgians

I had the opportunity to interview many Belgians because I was the only one at CyclingTips who spoke Dutch. Some great names from the past like Peter Van Petegem and Johan Museeuw (who rightly scolded me for not knowing all his big wins) appeared on my Zoom screen.

One of the best interviews I did – and certainly the longest – was with the young Cian Uijtdebroeks. He had just won the Tour de l’Avenir and despite the media attention he received, he took all the time to talk to me. We had planned for 15 minutes, which is a standard amount you get with the big riders, but we had such a great time that I ended up having to tell him that Zoom’s 40 minute limit was up. Just like Biniam Girmay, he is at the beginning of a spectacular career and still has that openness and candor that you often don’t get anymore with the biggest stars.

The big stars

I didn’t interview many big stars, although there were and are many on my list. Firstly, because it was never my intention to feature the riders who have already been written many articles about, and secondly, because it is very difficult to get them for a one-on-one interview. I also need a personal touch to be able to write what I write, so a group interview doesn’t work either.

Thaddeus Pogacar was different. I contacted him via direct message during the Flèche Wallonne where he couldn’t start due to Covid. I asked him if I could do a duo interview with him and his friend Urshka Zigart, who had just won her first competition. He agreed as long as most of the material was about her. After some back and forth with Alex Carrera, manager of many superstars, the Zoom call happened. This is one of my most read movies about two very normal young people who really love each other and try to stay normal in a pretty crazy world.

And much more

Looking at my author page, I realize how incredible these three years have been. I’ve been given the freedom and means to write what I want, from very personal pieces to French history, culture and cheese pieces for the Tour de France podcast. I wrote stories about people who mattered to me personally like Julien Verschuren, Stig Brook and Antoine Demoatier. I highlighted those riders who selflessly work for others like Lauretta Hanson, Tim Declercq and Emily Newsom.

But overall, these stories have connected me to you, the readers, and fellow fans of the sport. You have always been so supportive in the reactions under the articles and on Veloclub. You made me feel like I discovered a new talent and that you appreciate my writing. This link made my time at CyclingTips so special, so thank you.

I have Kaylee and Wade to thank for hiring me, but the biggest thanks goes to the person who was the backbone of this website, the person who always made my writing better, listened to my doubts and fears, and gave me loads of confidence. He was never at the front of the scene, but Matt de Neef himself was the very foundation of the scene that was CyclingTips for me.

What’s next for me? Who knows. I’m sure we’ll meet again somewhere in real life or online. Until then: tot ziens!