In the Van Els household they love cross-country racing. Fayènn (11) and Jaydee (13) from Huisseling have become Dutch sidecar cross champions for the fourth time. Their youngest brother Tys (9) also has the ‘cross virus’ and wants to become world champion together with the Herpense baking player Jayden van Ravenstein. “We are not afraid. If you fall, you get up and just keep going.”
Fayènn behind the wheel and her brother Jaydee as a baker is a successful combination. They won the national title for the second time, despite being a lot younger than most other teams in the A class. The years before, the roles were reversed in the sidecar and they were also the best in the Netherlands twice.
The current division of roles is good and there is a desire to continue to rule in our own country with the kidsandsidecars in the coming years. “Ultimately we want to become world champions,” says Jaydee. “We have so much passion for riding, we love the speed and jumping.”
“They were afraid of broken bones.”
Driving is not completely without danger. This became apparent in August when things went wrong in Groesbeek. Fayènn: “Just before a bump I felt that I no longer had control of the sidecar. We landed very hard and were on the ground. They were afraid of broken bones, but luckily they were only bruises. The first time I was allowed to drive again it was a bit exciting, but I quickly got over it.”
You would think that the Dutch champions are often on the track for training. “But we hardly ever train,” say the siblings. “We participate in quite a lot of competitions and there is little time to train. Moreover, we cannot go on the track when it is so wet.” Their brother Tys regularly trains at home with round cuddly toys. “I hold them in front of me with my arms outstretched and if I drop them, I try to catch them. Good for my reaction speed.”
As brother and sister, things are not always smooth sailing. Of course there is sometimes grumbling about each other. “But the choice for Fayènn as a driver and Jaydee as a baker was a good one. They keep getting better and stronger,” says father Edwin. It was ‘his fault’ that all three of his children are now speed demons.
“It was really slow in the beginning.”
“I used to often watch the sidecar cross. When I took Jaydee along he thought it would be fun to try it. Fayènn was six years old at the time and liked it too. In the beginning it was really slow and they practiced a bit on a farmer’s pasture. After a year of getting used to it, you saw clear progress.” Mother Nelleke: “When Fayènn was a lot younger, she waved to acquaintances on the side of the road. Fortunately, that is now gone.”
“I did a wheelie and Edwin was almost on the ground.”
Father and mother are always there and take care of the maintenance of the equipment. When the question arises whether they have ever sat on the sidecar themselves, Nelleke laughs. “Once, I thought I could do that too. But when I accelerated, I did a wheelie and Edwin was almost on the ground.”
