Tim van Dijke wins Dutch U23 title after strong team play

Tim van Dijke wins Dutch U23 title after strong team play

Tim van Dijke is the new Dutch U23 champion after a strong team effort. The rider of the Jumbo-Visma Development Team crossed the line solo. Right behind Tim, his twin brother Mick van Dijke rode to silver.

Last Wednesday Mick and Tim van Dijke also took home the first two medals in the national time trial championships. On that occasion it was Mick who took gold, while Tim made off with the silver.

After forty kilometres a front group of seven riders emerged. The Jumbo-Visma Development Team, which controlled the race, was well represented in that group. Besides the Van Dijke brothers, Lars Boven and Hidde van Veenendaal were also part of the group.

It soon became clear that the riders in the front group were riding for the win. In the final Tim van Dijke rode away from his breakaway companions. The rider of the Dutch province of Zeeland began the final lap with a 20-second lead. Van Dijke was the winner on top of the VAM mountain. A few metres behind him his brother took the silver medal. Van Veenendaal (sixth), Boven (seventh) and Owen Geleijn (ninth) also finished among the best ten.

“It is a huge honour to be able to wear the red, white and blue jersey”, Tim van Dijke said afterwards. “This is really incredible. At the end of the race, racing is hard. Then it’s mainly about pushing as hard as you can. It’s been a fantastic week. This week Mick won the time trial title and today I won the road race. I am really grateful for that. I want to thank the team for their help. We really rode as a unit today. We are all going to enjoy this.”

"We really rode as a unit today"

Tim van Dijke

“I’m super happy with this outcome and very proud of Tim”, said Mick van Dijke afterwards. “After last Wednesday’s performance, we also coloured the race today. I had no intention of overtaking Tim, I was riding for second place. He also had the better legs. We rode very strongly as a team today. Everyone on the team did their bit and I’m very grateful for that.”

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