Rider diaries with Casper van Uden

After a successful first block of racing, getting nice results with the Development program and gaining experience alongside the Men’s program, Casper penned his thoughts about his next goals while also looking back on the steps he made in the first part of the season.

I think my season is going pretty well so far and I am quite happy with it. I think I already made big steps compared to last year and that makes me really happy. Of course, I have been a little bit unlucky sometimes so not everything went just perfectly, but that’s also part of cycling. But nevertheless I am really enjoying the racing so far this season and having a lot of fun, so everything is going good I would say.

If I would have to choose a favourite moment of the year so far it would be the win at stage four of the Tour de Bretagne at the end of April. I crashed the day before, which was indeed a bit rubbish, but we really turned it around as a team.

Everyone still believed in it and everyone went all-in for our goal and we did a super good job to win the race and that makes it a nice moment or race to remember.

Of course, also the Scheldeprijs a few weeks before was a great race. We went there with a mixed team of the Development- and Men’s program. It didn’t felt so much different compared to a race with the Development program, which is good I think, and the way we raced was really fun.

We knew there would be echelons and when the race split, we made it with four guys in the first group, which was super good. Cees was a little bit unlucky and dropped out of the group, but me and Sam rotated in the attacks and brought home a third and fourth place, so it was a really good day out there on the bike.

Racing with the WorldTour guys is really good for my development and I really enjoy those opportunities.

Normally you would just do those races when you turn pro, but now I get the chance to already do them and know what they are like and how to ride them. That already gives you an advantage for now but also for the future too. I like that we have the opportunity in the team and it is also a nice moment to get to know the other guys a bit more as well.

My last month of racing hasn’t been too busy and I just had two one-day races on my calendar. The last one, Veenendaal-Veenendaal Classic didn’t go perfectly, but I could still finish just outside the top 10 after some nice teamwork in the final. Now I am at home and preparing for the next big races. As it looks now, there are some bigger stage races coming up next and I am really looking forward to that.

I am motivated to get some more nice races in the legs and be consistent over the next weeks!

Speak to you soon,

Casper!