Tirreno peloton now understands why Van Baarle was not too concerned about lack of "mega feeling"

Dylan van Baarle did not feature in the finals of the Opening Weekend, but in the Tirreno-Adriatico, the Dutch champion of Visma | Lease a Bike proved that he indeed has the legs he needs for everything that lies ahead. IDLProCycling.com spoke with Van Baarle, who also recorded a podcast with his buddy Wout Poels after the Tirreno.

First, let us go back to day three of the Tirreno-Adriatico, starting in Volterra. Van Baarle briefly stopped by in the mixed zone, as down-to-earth as ever. The fact that he was "simply not good enough" - in his own words - in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad did not bother him one and a half weeks later. "I think I also didn't have the mega feeling last year, but then everything fell into place," he referred to his dominant victory in the Omloop in 2023.

"We are just building now. My winter actually went as it should. I was able to do the training I wanted, although I was a bit sick at the beginning of the winter, in December. Otherwise, I had a good winter," continued the 31-year-old Dutchman, who simply wants to peak as he always does. "I don't think you can peak for, for example, the Tour of Flanders. You are either good or not good in that period, and maybe you have a slightly better day on one day than on another."

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Van Baarle congratulates Jan Tratnik, winner of the Omloop

Van Baarle got complaints in grupetto in Tirreno

After the Tirreno, Van Baarle sat down with Poels for a brief review of the Italian race week. Visma | Lease a Bike won with Jonas Vingegaard, so his teammate was in high spirits. "It took me a bit to get into it, but I felt good again towards the end," begins Van Baarle, who states he is better than a year ago. "Although it's hard to stand out in such a Tirreno. I was mainly leading at the front on the flat sections, and I am just very pleased with my form."

Poels agrees, laughing as he explains that Van Baarle rode incredibly hard for Vingegaard in the Tirreno. "We're all very satisfied with Dylan's form in the peloton. He kept the chain tight on those flat stages. He really rode hard at the front when controlling, it was unbelievable. I jokingly texted him that he must have eaten Vespas for breakfast, he was really strong. We even talked about it at the table with Bahrain Victorious, that says enough."

Van Baarle hears this and chuckles. "I did get some comments in the grupetto, in the two mountain stages. In that last mountain stage, Edward Theuns came up to me, and he asked how many friends I still had left in the grupetto. How much are people still talking to you? I had to laugh at that. We went into those two mountain stages with a plan, and we executed it well."