Track cyclists Roy van den Berg, Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland have been the very best worldwide for years. On Wednesday at the European Championships in Apeldoorn it became clear again that it is almost impossible as a newcomer to get in the middle.
In the middle of the orange-colored Omnisport in Apeldoorn, Tijmen van Loon stares at his phone on Wednesday evening. He uses the calculator to get the answer to his only question: was he or Hoogland the fastest on the final lap of the team sprint?
The 22-year-old Van Loon is known as an emerging talent, but still has to regularly introduce himself to the world of track cycling. That is a phase that his team sprint teammates Van den Berg (35), Lavreysen (26) and Hoogland (30) have already passed.
The trio are reigning world, European and Olympic champions. Van Loon has been looking up to them for years, but on Wednesday he will get one chance to compete among them at the European Championships. Is he faster than Hoogland? Then it is not Hoogland, but he who is allowed to go to the Olympic Games in Paris.
In front of half-filled stands, Van Loon achieved a lap of 13.30 seconds during qualifying in the afternoon. He’s quite happy. But after a simple sum on the calculator on his phone, the difference turns out to be very large in the evening. Hoogland clocked a lap of 12.79 seconds in the semi-final.
European Championship as a qualifying moment?
A qualifying moment like Wednesday’s is a rarity in the team sprint. At the previous Games, a selection was not even necessary. Then Matthijs Büchli simply joined as a reserve. A fourth man is now unnecessary, because the team sprint will be held over two days instead of one.
Hoogland: ‘There was not much doubt’
Whether Hoogland’s position has actually been under pressure? Lavreysen, who, like starter Van den Berg, was already assured of his place in the team sprint, has to laugh about it after winning the European Championship title. “In principle it was possible, but actually it was unthinkable.”
The four train with each other every day and know exactly what times they can expect from each other. “The differences are so big in training,” says Lavreysen. “And then Jeffrey’s experience also comes into play. Tijmen doesn’t have that yet.”
The fight with Van Loon was the first thing Hoogland thought about when he woke up in the morning. Yet he was also convinced that everything would turn out well. “A lot of things are going through your mind, but everything just looked good. There wasn’t much doubt.”
“Whether I had extra tension?”, Hoogland repeats a question from a journalist after his crushing performances in the semi-finals and finals. “I don’t really know. But I can say that it is only more beautiful now in retrospect.”
Jeffrey Hoogland, Roy van den Berg, Harrie Lavreysen and Tijmen van Loon. Photo: ANP Photo
Van Loon: ‘For me it’s really still survival’
Thanks to his efforts in qualifying, Van Loon appeared on the podium in Apeldoorn with his teammates to collect the jersey of the European champion. But Van Loon’s Olympic dream is not yet coming true. “The time differences say enough,” the youngster is realistic.
In the afternoon, Van Loon still needed hours to recover from his exertion. As the closing rider, he had to ride behind sprint king Lavreysen on the second lap. “For me, that really means surviving. It still takes me a lot of time to process such an effort.”
The impressive level of Lavreysen, Van den Berg and Hoogland is too high for now, but it does not make Van Loon despondent. “I have learned from them from the very first moment and that will continue. That of course happens quickly when you end up in a team with so much quality.”
Van Loon still has plenty to win in his career. And if something happens to Hoogland or Lavreysen, he is ready as a substitute. “I have to keep giving it my all. But I have to if I want to keep up with these guys.”
Tijmen van Loon behind multiple world champion Harrie Lavreysen. Photo: Getty Images
