Max vanderMeulen

Class of 2023 member Max comes to Development Team DSM after a strong two seasons in the junior ranks, with his 2022 campaign particularly impressive – including nine wins and several other jerseys to go along with his burgeoning palmares.

Yet, Max’s chatty and sociable nature reveal a teenager who isn’t too big for his own boots and one that seems to be fully switched on to who he is as a person and an athlete.

“Because I mess around and have fun sometimes, most people tend to forget that I’m extremely motivated. My will to win is…I don’t think I’m more talented than anyone, but I want to win more than other guys and I’m willing to do what it takes to do that.”

Finding that balance well has seen Max take those wins in 2022 but also play a key part in multiple wins for his teammates; and he’s always willing to help others. A great example of this was at the World Championships in Australia where Max found a course that suited him, and he was the name on many people’s lips as a potential champion until disaster struck on the opening lap – crashing at high speed and suffering injuries. Undeterred, Max gave it his all to return to the bunch and help his teammates before he eventually had to drop later, but he soldiered on to finish the race. It would have been easy for someone to mope around and dwell on what could have been, but Max’s attitude won’t allow him to do that.

“I’m not the type of person to let disappointments get to me. I just see it as an opportunity instead to learn something for the next time.”

With that attitude Max “trained his ass off” and returned to action at Philippe Gilbert Juniors a fortnight later where he took fourth place overall in what was an emotional last road stage as a junior. Interestingly, it was that race which stands out to Max as his best performance of the year; precisely because of the challenges he overcame to get there.

Although his dad and granddad always rode bikes, initially Max only saw cycling as a recreational and commuting means, but he fell in love with the sport after watching the 2015 Vuelta a España and Tom Dumoulin’s, who is one of his idols, fighting performance with the team there. Watching along at a friend’s house, they were thrown out of the living room as it was time for his friend’s sister to watch cartoons, so they sprinted up the stairs and fired up “this old box of a TV” and saw Dumoulin take the win on Cumbre de Sol; setting off the glimmer in young Max’s eyes.

Looking ahead, Max wants to continue to improve and test himself in his first year at U23, but he doesn’t put any pressure on results, stating that it’s “pretty overwhelming” seeing all these guys who won similar races to him be up there and fighting for wins in their opening season at U23. With that laid-back but equally driven attitude, Max is ready to throw himself whole-heartedly into the world of cycling and at the time of writing he “can’t wait to get stuck in” and he’s “not looking forward to off-season.”

During that off-season period, you might hear Max practicing on his piano which is something he has done for 8/9 years already and is his party piece for those who don’t know, which he jokes is “always a bit of a surprise”. Else while, you can find him catching up with friends and goofing around.