27 Jun 2018
Van Baarle hails amazing day
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Dylan van Baarle
Amazing, unexpected and one of the best days of his career - all ways Dylan van Baarle described winning the Dutch national time trial title.
The 26 year old rode to his first senior national title in fantastic fashion in Bergen op Zoom, winning the TT title by 30 seconds from nearest challenger Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors).
And when TeamSky.com caught up with Van Baarle, the achievement was still sinking in.
“I never expected to win it,” explained Dylan. “I knew that with [Tom] Dumoulin not riding there was a chance to go for the podium. I thought I could make the top three but winning… It’s something else.”
It was a lengthy test at 52.3 kilometres and Dylan thinks he measured his effort well.
He continued: “It was a really fast course and we did two laps. There was a few uphill drags, but not too many.
“After the first lap I was on the same time as [Jos] van Emden, and then I managed to push the gap out. I felt pretty good right the way until the end.”
Dylan's mother was on hand to see her son take one of the biggest wins of his career - a special moment for a pro who rarely gets to race in his homeland.
Dylan van Baarle
Being Dutch champion is something you dream of as a child
“Of course it’s one of my biggest wins. The Tour of Britain [in 2014] was also a big deal, but being Dutch champion is something you dream of as a child. To ride with the champion’s jersey will be really special.
“My Mum really enjoyed it. I don’t race so often in Holland so it was really cool to have her there.
“It was an amazing day.”
