Van Baarle kicks off in the Tour Down Under: "Getting the engine running again." Poels happy with his new XDS bike

The 2025 cycling season is upon us. In January, the WorldTour traditionally starts with the Tour Down Under, and Dylan van Baarle is expected to be present there. He said so in his podcast In Koers. Wout Poels was also featured in the episode and discussed his move to Astana Qazaqstan Team and his new XDS bike.

Van Baarle is eager for a fresh start after a disappointing 2024. Things were off to a bad start when he had to miss Paris-Roubaix due to illness, followed by a collarbone fracture after a bad crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné, forcing him to miss the Tour de France. To make matters worse, he dropped out in the second stage of the Vuelta a España with a hip fracture. As a result, the Dutch rider did not finish more than twenty race days that season.

He is keen to race again after a well-deserved vacation in South Africa. "In December, the schedules for 2025 will be announced," says the classics specialist. "The coaches met last week to finalize the programs. I will hear it officially soon, but it looks like I am heading to the Tour Down Under. I have also indicated that myself. Especially after last year, which didn't go as I wanted, it seemed good to start early and get that engine running again."

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Wout Poels

Poels happy with his new bike and makes goal of Giro d'Italia

Poels was one of the Astana Qazaqstan Team's numerous transfers this winter. The team finally realized it was all hands on deck to avoid relegation, so a big clean-up was performed. Twelve riders were recruited, including three Dutch riders: Poels, Mike Teunissen, and Darren van Bekkum. With Cees Bol and Ide Schelling already on the team, a nice Dutch alliance emerged within the Kazakh team.

Or rather, Chinese Kazakhs, because a new sponsor is coming: XDS, a Chinese bicycle manufacturer, Astana, will start riding these new bikes. Whether it will have the same effect as the Decathlon bikes remains to be seen, but Poels is positively surprised by his new equipment.

"I actually only have a new frame; the rest has stayed the same," Poels explained. "In the beginning, I had to get used to it; that took about two weeks. But last week, I left home for a ride, clicked my feet in, and thought: yes, it's comfortable. It's different, but at some point, you feel it. It has to evolve, but I'm optimistic about it."

Poels expects to start his season around the Tour of Oman. Furthermore, he has already set one big - not unexpected - goal for 2025. After being left out of the Giro team by Bahrain-Victorious this year, he will be at the start of the Giro d'Italia this May if all goes well. "I have mentioned again, or again ... That I want to prepare and start in the Giro."

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