Supporting Vingegaard or shining with the elite in Rwanda? National expert explains the future of Dutch cycling

Veelers doesn’t hold back when discussing the track record of his U23 squad. "The entire Dutch World Championship selection in the U23 category will turn pro next year." A reassuring sign. Recently, Huub Artz even became European Champion in this category. Artz achieved this on a course that also gave sprinters a shot. However, the young rider had already shown his abilities on a tough uphill finish in Oman back in February.

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Recently, with much fanfare, Niklas Behrens was announced as a new addition to Visma | Lease a Bike. Veelers confidently places Artz alongside him. "So strong. In the opening days of the Tour de l’Avenir this past summer, Huub was able to shake up the entire peloton. At the European Championships, he beat Behrens, the German who later became world champion in Zurich and will race for Visma | Lease a Bike next year." Impressive, indeed.

Veelers also had praise for Tibor del Grosso, who will turn pro with Alpecin-Deceuninck. "A special talent. You only get riders like Van der Poel once in a while. Tibor has the same exceptional abilities and is a similar type of rider to Mathieu, suited to the same kinds of courses. A puncher but also a strong sprinter." And that’s not all. When it comes to stage races and climbing, there’s little cause for concern. Thijmen Graat, Menno Huising, Darren van Bekkum and Max van der Meulen are all names to watch.

"All of them are strong climbers. I see Menno and Max more suited to one-day races. Darren and Tijmen, I think, could compete in stage races in the future. I wouldn’t be surprised if next year Tijmen and Menno are already supporting Jonas Vingegaard in Paris-Nice as his second-to-last or last helpers. It could very well be that one or two of these guys will be riding for Koos Moerenhout in the Dutch elite squad at the 2025 World Championships in Rwanda," Veelers remarked, referring to his plans for the U23 team.

If we can believe the man who probably has the best view of it, the future looks brighter than many might have thought.