Interview | Only cycling since 2019, but already a Jumbo-Visma climber: Tijmen Graat notices fast progression

He has only been cycling since 2019, but is already one of the most promising talents of the Jumbo-Visma Development Team when it comes to climbing. On Tuesday he even won the prestigious Italian youth race GP Pacio del Recioto, so we can surely say that Tijmen Graat is living a dream that seems far from over. Time for an introduction, In de Leiderstrui figured!

It may not have been abundantly obvious during the week of the Tour of Catalonia, Classic Brugge-De Panne, E3 Saxo Classic, and Gent-Wevelgem, but there was a race happening simultaneously in Italy. The Coppi and Bartali Cycling Week is a race that Jumbo-Visma has been starting off with a strong group of young riders for several years now. For example, Jonas Vingegaard won the race in 2021. This year Graat was the one to demonstrate his potential. After five tough days, he finished eleventh in his first professional race.

“Almost a top ten ranking – it was only a two second difference,” the youngster laughs when we remind him of his great performance. “I'm satisfied with how things went there. I actually went there without any expectations because I noticed it was a different peloton than the races I was used to. Everyone simply got their chance because we started off without any real leaders.”

Graat, who already won the overall classification of the Istrian Spring Trophy in March, was able to keep up nicely with guys like Domenico Pozzovivo and Mauro Schmid. “There were a lot of short climbs, while the longer climbs should normally suit me better. All in all, the results were above expectations. I was a bit surprised myself,” said the Dutchman, who did notice the difference with the guys who finished at the top. “I managed to keep up, but I still didn’t have that extra acceleration. My explosiveness isn’t great yet, so I am still working hard on that. Those short bursts aren’t really my forte yet, but I can keep up. I still have plenty of time to work on that, so I think I can look to the future with confidence.”

Graat received a lot of trust from Jumbo-Visma: “Sometimes I thought: we'll have to wait and see”

To the outside world, he may still be an unknown entity, but Jumbo-Visma has had full confidence in Graat's abilities for quite some time now. “I have to say that the team and I saw it coming. I had really taken a big leap forward. After a rest period, I got on my bike and suddenly things were moving quickly,” he explained. “Then I had a good winter and during the training camps, I already noticed that I had taken a serious leap forward and that it could be a good season. The team gave me a lot of trust and the feeling that I could do it. At times I thought: we'll see. But they were right. One of the reasons for that is that I did a lot of strength training.”

It's no surprise that Graat, who is originally from Maashees, has been able to make such progress, considering he only started cycling in 2019, after a serious ankle injury prevented him from playing football for a while. In order to stay active in sports, he started cycling. “I was already a cycling enthusiast. I watched the races, but at the time I still enjoyed playing football more. Ultimately, I started cycling with my father because of my ankle injury, and that's where my love for cycling truly began.”

“I really wanted to keep on practicing sports and to stay active, so I returned to the soccer field a little too quickly. That wasn't too smart, but yeah... I haven't played soccer in the last few years. I still like to watch the games, but that's about it,” said the enthusiastic rider from the Jumbo-Visma development team. “Six weeks after that soccer injury, I was allowed to start cycling. I remember I was still on crutches. Then I went for a ride with my father, who often cycles with a few of his friends. We had an old mountain bike lying around, so I started cycling on the road with my father using just that. Eventually, I also wanted a road bike, so we got a second-hand one. From that moment on, things got very serious,” Graat smoothly recites his history.

“It's quite special that it all happened so quickly, especially because it was during the pandemic”, Graat continues. “I once participated in a Zwift race, where I finished third behind Loe van Belle and Jesse Kramer. They are also on my team now, so that's quite funny. Then I was invited to a testing day in South Limburg, where it turned out that I could ride uphill quite fast. Jumbo-Visma received a call right away that this rider had only recently started cycling and was already riding well”, he laughs. “That's how the contact started. So you could say that without that Zwift race, I wouldn't be here now. Sometimes you need a bit of luck.”

Graat noticed that he was a bit too soft in the peloton at times

So, looking back, was the pandemic an advantage or rather a disadvantage? “As a junior, I rode very few races. I actually somewhat regretted that this year, because you could tell that riding in a peloton or descending wasn't always straightforward for me. Those were things I could have learned as a first-year junior, but I can still work on them now. Practice makes perfect, as they say. Fortunately, it's going very well now.”

“It wasn't that I was afraid, but maybe I was a bit too soft,” Graat explains. "You don't want to fall, so I didn't take certain risks. Now, I still don't really take risks, but my technique has improved, which also helps. And besides, if you have strong legs, racing in a peloton becomes a lot easier", says the born climber. "Still, you won't see me in Paris-Roubaix anytime soon."

All of this is part of Graat's development process, who can partly attribute the big strides he is currently making to his currently still very young cycling career. "Last year, I actually completed a full season for the first time. By the end, I was a bit worn out, but I came back stronger. Because I started cycling at a later point, I can hopefully continue to make those strides. I can still gain a lot of experience, especially in terms of insights in the race."

At Jumbo-Visma, he sure is in the right place to further develop himself as a rider. "We're taking it step by step. For example, we've been able to take a leap forward now, and only then do we move on to the next one. I really like that they're giving me time, that approach appeals to me. They don’t put much pressure on me, but I was given the chance to participate in certain races. I'm a big fan of that approach."

The fact that he has now been able to experience the pros during the Coppi and Bartali Cycling Week is a great example of that. “We do have a training camp with the pros in January. Jumbo-Visma really does a great job in that respect. Same thing if you look at programs: I have ridden well in the past few races, but we just take it easy. That is very nice and the fact that I can also make a lot of progress with this approach gives me a lot of confidence.”

Actually, Graat was supposed to make his debut in O Gran Camino, a race that Tour winner Vingegaard won on behalf of Jumbo-Visma. "Ultimately, it didn't happen because of certain reasons. That was a bummer, but I’m confident the opportunity will present itself again. If you get to race with someone like Jonas, that is super cool. You can really learn a lot from that experience. That's also the advantage of the Jumbo-Visma Development Team, you can participate in those races with the pros. If you ever get to the next step, you already have those experiences. I'm very happy that this is a possibility with this team," says Graat. "It was already a dream for me to ride with this team. I used to watch the Tour for Rabobank and Belkin. When I got the offer, I didn't hesitate."

Graat hopes to participate in Baby Giro and Tour de l'Avenir

So, what can we expect from this diamond in the rough, both in the short and long term? "I haven't set specific goals for this year yet. If all goes well, I’ll be racing the Baby Giro and Tour de l'Avenir, so those are races where I want to perform well. We have a lot of other good riders for those races and I want to help them too. That's also very valuable, especially since I'm still only a second-year rider."

After his resounding victory in the GP Palio del Recioto on Tuesday, we will soon see Graat in action close to home again. “I will be returning from Italy on Wednesday, to ride the Liege-Bastogne-Liege for U23’s on Saturday. Those are very nice races, so I try to peak for those”, said Graat, who attended the same high school as Mike Teunissen and Wout Poels.

What about his father, who was the first to get a sense of what his son could do on a bike in 2019? “He enjoys coming along with me from time to time, when I go cycling. He also quickly realized that I was going too fast for him, haha. I sometimes went with him and his cycling friends to Limburg, but that was no fun at all for them – or for me. I spent a lot of time waiting for them at the top, haha,” the ever cheerful Graat concludes with a smile.