This Dutch top talent already beat Visma’s Nordhagen and Belgium’s Widar, but prefers to stay under the radar

The Netherlands has no shortage of cycling stars – Mathieu van der Poel, Fabio Jakobsen, Olav Kooij, just to name a few. When it comes to the younger generation, many believe the talent pool isn’t that deep, yet in mid-2024, a certain Max van der Meulen signed with Bahrain Victorious. The 21-year-old talent was promoted from the development team, CTF Victorious, and will get his shot in the WorldTour in 2025. IDLProCycling.com got the chance to interview him.

We're missing a bit of context, as it wasn't all live on television, but Van der Meulen's smile says it all when we ask him about what happened on May 2, 2024, in the highly regarded U23 race, Ronde de l’Isard. The 21-year-old Dutchman won after a grueling mountain stage, beating Visma | Lease a Bike’s Jørgen Nordhagen in a head-to-head battle. Belgium’s top prospect, Jarno Widar (Lotto), finished over a minute behind.

This was just one of many impressive results Van der Meulen delivered in 2024. He had previously raced in the development squad of what is now Picnic-PostNL, finishing sixth in the U23 Paris-Roubaix in 2023. But last year, he took a different path, joining Bahrain’s setup. Remarkably, in 2022, he was still racing in a small Dutch club (called Willebrord Wil Vooruit). His rise has been rapid, and this week, he is competing in the AlUla Tour.

Read more below the photo.

Van der Meulen spent just one year in dsm-Firmenich's development team

Interview with Dutch top talent Max van der Meulen

You’re now with the team — how’s it going?

"Really well. I was a bit nervous because everything is new. I knew a few people, but definitely not everyone. It really helps that I moved up with some teammates from the development squad, and Torstein Træen was a great roommate. Everyone is so relaxed and down-to-earth that you almost forget you’re sitting at the table with big names. I feel very at home here."

You’ve already been in the Bahrain Victorious setup for a year, but how much of that did you actually spend working with the WorldTour team?

"The support system was somewhat the same. I had a coach and a nutritionist from the team. But I wasn’t working with them as closely as I am now. Now, I have a much larger team of doctors, nutritionists, and trainers that I’m in contact with daily. In 2024, I still had to manage a lot of things myself. So this is a big step in terms of professionalism, especially since last year, my team was fully Italian-run."

Right now, everyone is talking about Jørgen Nordhagen (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Jarno Widar (Lotto). The younger the better. But in 2024, you beat Nordhagen fair and square. Do you think perhaps you’re flying under the radar a little?

"No idea, that’s the last thing on my mind. I just focus on making sure I’m in the best possible shape physically and that my head is in the right place. I want to start races feeling fit, fresh, and motivated. What other people do… Honestly, I don’t care at all."

I take it you’re not jealous of all the media attention those guys are already getting?

"The less people forget about me, the more relaxed it is for me! That means I can sleep peacefully, without cameras in my face. I just prefer it that way, and I’m happy to be with a team like Bahrain, where they take a careful approach with young riders. There’s no pressure to perform. The focus is on development."

When you left dsm-Firmenich PostNL last year, were there other teams interested in signing you?

"Bahrain was the first, but not the only team I talked to. But it quickly became clear that Bahrain was the right fit for me, and I felt comfortable there right away."

Read more below the photo.

How good can Max van der Meulen get?

You’re a really strong climber, you have a punch — how would you describe your riding style?

"When I’m fit and at my ideal weight, I can climb really well. I’m strong in the hills, and I’d say I race aggressively and smart. I’m not the smallest climber, so I can also hold my own in the classics, but I also recover well, which makes me strong in stage races. I can handle a big workload pretty well."

So, you have a lot of strengths, and your own ambitions too, I guess. What does Bahrain Victorious have planned for you?

"Ideally, I’d like to focus on big hilly classics and stage races. That’s what the team has in mind as well, but for now, the main goal is just to develop and get used to the system. Then we’ll see what happens."

The team hasn't said anything yet about where they want to take you in terms of stage races, for example?

"No, and those kinds of goals are completely irrelevant right now. I can’t control the level of the other guys — I just have to be as good as I can be. Maybe that means I win, or maybe I get dropped with 20 kilometers to go. That’s not what we’re focusing on right now. I’m just sticking to the basics: eating right, following my training plan, sleeping well so that I'm fresh, and absorbing the trainings."

In addition to UAE, I also hear Bahrain does a lot of zone 2 training. A high base tempo, where training with your friends is out of the question. Did you do that last year as well?

"Not really, last year I actually trained too hard and too much. I pushed myself too hard because I always wanted to do more. I didn’t eat enough during training, so I ended up burning myself out. I learned a lot from that, and this winter was the first time I actually took an off-season without touching my bike. I started training feeling super fresh and have completely put my trust in the team. I stick to the training plan, to the letter. No extra 15 minutes here or there. I eat exactly what they tell me to eat and track my sleep closely."

And is that paying off?

"Yeah, definitely. I don’t overthink things anymore, and I completely trust my team. That gives me peace of mind. I don’t walk around feeling stressed anymore."

Are you naturally a stressed person? Since you say you always used to do more than what was good for you...

"Yeah, I think so. It comes from a feeling of insecurity, like you always need to push more, and harder. There’s this idea in your head that if you don’t come back from a ride completely spent and exhausted, then you didn’t train properly. But it’s actually the opposite — if you’ve done your training right and eaten well, you should feel fresh. That’s a good thing because it means your body is absorbing the work better. For the first time since I started cycling, I don’t feel the need to train on rest days. I can stick to the plan and check things off systematically. My mind is more at ease. I’m already in a much better place than last year, when I kept training straight through the off-season and was completely burnt out by mid-2024."

Read more below the photo.

Handing over control to Bahrain Victorious

Are you a data nerd, in a sport where numbers are becoming more important than ever?

"I used to be, but now I just follow the program. I used to rely on my numbers as a kind of safety net. I often pushed way too hard in training, just to prove to myself that I had the level. And because of that I often started races already fatigued... Now, I just follow my training plan, and the numbers are what they are. I feel good, and that’s what matters. The data just confirms that I’m doing well, which is reassuring. But I don’t obsess over it anymore, I let it be. I leave that to the coaches."

But they did scout you based on your power numbers, just like they now scout riders they haven’t even seen race. So there must be something really good about you in that regard, right?

"Yeah, of course. I know my numbers too. But every rider here has good numbers. That’s not what makes you a pro. It’s about the results of your training, your lifestyle, and bringing it all together in races. Everyone at Bahrain Victorious has a high VO2 max. That’s why we’re here. But honestly, I couldn’t care less about that. In the end, it’s all about rest and training."

What’s your race schedule looking like this season?

"I’m happy with whatever races I get. I don’t know my full program yet. I’ll wait and see what the final verdict is."

Do you have any specific dreams?

"Oh… Yeah, I’ve kind of put dreams aside for now because I’ve already achieved them. I’m a pro, so there aren’t really ‘dreams’ anymore. Now, it’s about working toward stuff on the calendar. It’s completely different from five years ago. Back then, it all felt really far off, but now it’s normal to focus on bigger races and objectives. I’d love to race the Amstel Gold Race in 2025 — that would be really cool, especially in the Netherlands. But I’ll learn something from every race this year."

Koen Bouwman once said: you should never stop dreaming. He never thought about winning a Grand Tour stage, and now he dreams of winning one in the Tour de France...

"Of course, those are things you think about, but like I said, the Tour is just a step-by-step process you're working on. First, you have to get there, and to reach that level, there’s still a long way to go. So yeah… Who cares? That will come in time. Right now, I’m just focused on what I can do to improve. I have full confidence that I’ll reach my full potential. Whatever that may be. Whether that means riding the Tour, winning a stage, or fighting for a GC somewhere… Right now, it doesn't really matter yet."

So, in a way, you’re already living your dream?

"Exactly. It excites me, and I’m really enjoying it."

Are there big names on the team that you're really impressed with?

"It’s not that I’m not impressed by them, but mostly that they’re not impressed by themselves. Everyone is super down-to-earth and talks to me like I’ve been on the team for three years already. I’m just as much a Bahrain rider as they are. The team is super inclusive, the guys are approachable, you can ask them anything, and there's always a good vibe at the table. I don’t feel like there’s a real hierarchy. Of course, in races, there is, and you do your job. But there aren’t any alpha males."

When we mentioned Gino Mäder’s name in an interview with Pello Bilbao, there was instant emotion. How much is Gino’s passing from back in 2023 still felt within the team, and how does that show itself?

"Well, we still have #rideforgino on our kit. Especially for the guys who were there in that race (Tour of Switzerland, ed.) and those who raced with him, it really made an impact. You can tell it’s still something people talk about in the team, though I can’t compare it to how it was in 2023 or last season."

I can tell you have a grounded mindset. Are there any riders you compare yourself to? Any idols — past or present?

"That’s always a tough question. Now, I’m suddenly racing alongside guys who turn out to be just regular people. But if I had to pick someone, I’d say Primoz Roglic. He’s a great example of someone who always bounces back and keeps going after lots and lots of setbacks. He has a really strong character. I’m sure there are plenty of other riders who are like that, but Roglic wins, you know him, so that's why I pick him. I do see a bit of myself in him."

Have you faced any major setbacks in life?

"Everyone has, but nothing extreme. I can’t complain. I made it as a pro, so things couldn’t have been that bad."

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