Joost Brinkman

Standing at almost two metres tall, Joost’s towering and imposing figure doesn’t match his endearing and friendly nature, with the Dutch native talkative and outgoing, something that is reflected in his love for the sport.

Although his parents didn’t race, they rode their bikes recreationally and Joost’s mum always had her bike hanging around. While he was growing up, Joost always tried to fit on her bike, and eventually the day came where he could finally do so. From that moment, he loved the sport. The first local club he joined was more of a touring club but ever the competitor at heart, Joost wanted to race and joined another club – completing his first race at around the age of 7.

For Joost, cycling started out as something fun as he tried several other sports such as football, volleyball, and hockey, but nothing gripped him as much as riding a bike did, and still does.

“I love how it can be both a solo and team sport. You can go out to ride on your own and free your mind or focus on training, but you can go also go out for a social spin with friends.”

Growing as a rider but also a person in his first year at U23, Joost looks back honestly on his 2022 campaign; saying that it was a tough year with ups and downs due to illness and injury, but he learned a lot from it and about himself.

“I learned a lot about the way of working in the team but also think I developed a lot mentally. I’ve been able to see things more in perspective and not only focus on the short-term, but more on the bigger picture and longer view. I’ve also learnt to enjoy that path and journey.”

Describing himself in three words Joost says he is “social, energetic and spontaneous”, all of which transfer into his cycling. Telling a story from the season where he was a late replacement for a race after illness for one of his teammates, Joost quickly sprang into action and packed his bags – ready to make the three-hour car journey so that he could get to the Aqua-Step Keep Challenging Center in Sittard for the meeting point the next day – all because “I just really want to race.”

It’s that drive and determination that Joost hopes sees him make steps with the team in 2023, and hopefully with an injury and illness free campaign. Alongside that, his jovial and energetic attitude has seen Joost as a bit of a joker within the team; and he says that one of his hidden talents is that he’s quite good at imitating people and their accents – much to the amusement of his teammates throughout the year.