The 2022 Giro has given a glimpse of the new generation of cyclists from the Netherlands

The striking performances started in the opening stage in Hungary, which Van der Poel won. He then rode in the pink leader’s jersey for three days. “Ride and pink was the biggest goal beforehand,” he said. ‘It’s great that despite my poor preparation, I succeeded.’ Koen Bouwman even won two stages and was the first Dutchman to wear the blue jersey in Verona as the overall winner of the mountains classification.

The Dutch also drove remarkably often in the front, especially in the (heavy) hill, mountain and time trials. They finished no less than 33 times in the top-10 of a stage. They started three weeks ago with a record number of 17. Only Italy came with more riders: 45. On the other hand, the Dutch played no significant role in the classification. Wilco Kelderman finished seventeenth, Thymen Arensman eighteenth, Sam Oomen twentieth.

Former Giro winner Tom Dumoulin (2017), who resigned prematurely, and Kelderman, who successfully played the role of master servant for Giro winner Jai Hindley, learned in the past three weeks that they now belong to the category of Bauke Mollema and, not active this Giro, Steven Kruijswijk and Robert Gesink.

From round rider to ride hijackers

All of them were once part of the Rabobank training team, were successfully trained as a round rider and rode great classifications in the big rounds, sometimes even leading to a podium place. Until, for physical or mental reasons, they had to throw their classification ambitions overboard and continued their cycling career as stage hijackers, road captains and foremen.

The past Giro has made it clear who their potential successors are. Four people in their twenties who have spent the past three weeks exploring their own options. But the question is whether those four – Van der Poel, Bouwman, Arensman and Gijs Leemreize – are able and willing to make the mental and physical sacrifices necessary to ever win a Grand Tour.

In the last Tour, Van der Poel (27) always broke the questioner when he started about riding a good classification in a big round. The question came mainly after Van der Poel had dedicated his stage victory and the yellow jersey he had won to his deceased grandfather Raymond Poulidor. The Frenchman was a round rider pur sang, who won the Vuelta in the 1960s and finished second in the Tour three times. I don’t have the build for a round rider, Van der Poel always said.

In this Giro he not only performed excellently in both time trials. If he felt like it, he also performed well in the mountain stages and tried to participate in a bunch sprint. The comparison with his almost equally heavy, tall and old rival Wout van Aert is tempting. The Belgian won a mountain stage, a time trial and a bunch sprint in the last Tour.

Become a complete rider

Van der Poel took advantage of his first big round to become a more complete rider and has succeeded in his goal. “I wasn’t struggling in the last week and hope to come out stronger towards the Tour,” he said after the closing time trial. He previously said he had set his sights on that, but had to tolerate Arensman and the Italian time trial champion Matteo Sobrero.

Convinced of his talent, Van der Poel mainly has fun. He drove up part of the final climb on one wheel on Saturday with a laugh. He is the undisputed leader of his Alpecin-Fenix ​​team and apparently has no problem with the pressure that comes with it.

Can the other successful rider of this Giro, Koen Bouwman (28), take an example? He also discovered a lot about himself. Thanks to insight into the race, fierce sprints uphill and help from teammates, he won the mountain jersey and two stages. In time trials, he admits little to the specialists. Bouwman therefore has the qualities of a round racer, but feels very comfortable in the modest role of a servant for whom every success is a bonus. The question is whether he and his Jumbo-Visma team dare to take him out of that safe shelter and make him the leader.

His compatriot Thymen Arensman, six years younger, would have no problem with that. The rider from DSM – a good climber, excellent time trialist – is moving to Ineos and, when asked, sees himself as a future winner of a Grand Tour. Not immediately, but after a few years of copying the profession of tour rider from the leaders for whom he rides.

That self-confidence is not yet reflected in the face of his peer Gijs Leemreize, Bouwman’s teammate. Leemreize looks especially amazed at his own abilities, but together with Arensman, he is the revelation of this Giro. They both booked five top-10 placings. The 22-year-old riders also performed well in the tough final week of the Giro, a testament to their untapped potential. The age of Arensman and Leemreize guarantees that Dutch cycling enthusiasts can witness their journey of discovery for years to come.