29-year-old American takes unique path to WorldTour
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Kiel Reijnen (Trek-Segafredo)(Image credit: Trek-Segafredo)
New signing Kiel Reijnen and Peter Stetina(Image credit: Trek Factory Racing)
A smiling Kiel Reijnen (UnitedHealthcare) in green
Kiel Reijnen (UnitedHealthcare) celebrates after crossing the line(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Kiel Reijnen (UnitedHealthcare) celebrates on the podium with Brent Bookwalter and Taylor Phinney (BMC)
Every photo you’ve seen of Kiel Reijnen over the last few weeks has probably involved him smiling profusely. Whether it is the obligatory bike and rider combos, the posing with his new teammates or training in Spain, he has been beaming from ear-to-ear with a genuine eagerness and freshness not all professionals can claim to foster.
In case you’re not aware of Reijnen’s backstory, he is a 29-year-old rider who has followed a rather unique path into the WorldTour rank and file. Unlike one of your typical U23 development riders he never clamoured for a place at cycling’s top table. Instead, he chose to build a solid base on the North American domestic scene before cementing his role as a leading rider within that circuit. Over the years there were certainly chances to move to Europe, race the biggest races and work with some of the biggest names, but until this year Reijnen had resisted. However, when Trek-Segafredo came calling it was time to make the leap. And since then, that smile has just become wider and wider.
“I’m definitely a bit of a late bloomer,” he modestly tells Cyclingnews as we sit down in the lobby of the Trek-Segafredo hotel in Benidorm on a crisp December evening.
Kiel Reijnen and Peter Stetina at the Trek-Segafredo team camp in December.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
