On the same day Lars van der Haar put in a thundering climb of the Koppenberg to win the first round of X2O Badkamers Trofee in Oudenaarde, his young Trek Baloise Lions teammate Pim Ronhaar played an important supporting role and finished fifth in the process.
The Koppenbergcross set the stage for an exciting UEC European Cyclocross Championships this weekend, where Ronhaar, 21, will race the under-23 category. His top opposition will be teammate Thibau Nys, 20, rather than the reigning U23 champion Ryan Kamp, who opted to race in the elite category for the Dutch team.
“I’m really looking forward to this Saturday. [I'm] super motivated to try and take that jersey. Last year Ryan [Kamp] was the European Champion, I hope I can take it over from him this year,” he told Cyclingnews, adding a light laugh.
Ronhaar and Nys worked together at Tuesday’s contest and took off from the gun with a high pace up the Koppenberg. They set the stage on the final lap for Van der Haar to power up the monumental climb to score a come-from-behind victory.
“What Lars did on the Koppenberg is something I can dream of the coming years. I hope I can improve year by year, hopefully I will win some day in the future,” the 21-year-old recounted about the effort in the elite field.
Ronhaar earned his first podium in an elite World Cup race in the 2021-2022 season with third place in Besançon, which came on the heels of a fifth place in Fayetteville. This year’s World Cup season began with a sixth place in Waterloo and 19th in Fayetteville, both elite races and both on dry, fast, technical courses.
“Yeah, definitely fast and technical. That’s the thing that suits me less than a mud race, but I worked really hard this summer to get a good speed in the legs,” said the former Continental Champion from the 2018 men’s junior cyclocross event.
“Third place in Besançon was also on a muddy course and Fayetteville was on a muddy course. So it’s a little bit harder for me to get a good top five here [in Waterloo] because the race is so fast.
“For now, I'm going to do the Europeans and World Champs in the under-23 category. The season is going really well with the elite category, and I can can make a switch. But for now, I'm doing under-23.”
With Kamp leaving the door open in the Saturday men’s U23 contest in Namur, Ronhaar is optimistic. Nys has been either the fastest or second-fastest U23 rider in every race he has finished this season, but Ronhaar has been right there. And the Namur course has climbing, which he likes.
Ronhaar's opening ‘cross contest of the year was in the elite division, Kleeberg Cross in the Netherlands, which he won. He has experience in big ‘cross competitions, winning the U23 world title in the sand at Oostende in 2021, and recently has gained valuable experience on the road.
This past summer he earned the king of the mountains title in the five-stage Flèche du Sud, where his teammate Nys won the overall and best young rider classifications.
“Yeah, for sure, I like to climb. Races like Flèche du Sud are really the races that suits us. I prepared better than two years ago for the road season. I worked really hard this summer, so the races went really well. And now I'm really prepared for cyclocross season. So it definitely helps for cyclocross," he said.
“‘Cross is my favourite discipline. Last year, I really enjoyed the road races. The year before I didn’t, so that’s a big step I made. I was of course a little bit better [this past year], so the races went easier for me. I think that's the difference and hopefully next year I'm gonna do some nice results, stage races and GC.”
Career goals next few years? “I think competing in a Grand Tour would be great. And then, the best-case scenario will be winning the Tour de France,” he added with a big smile.
