Until spring he had run a lot and had even won, then almost suddenly Arvid De Kleijn disappeared, except to see him again in the race at the end of the summer and once again return to whizzing like a motorbike. For the rider of the Tudor Pro Cycling Team, in fact two victories have arrived.
His sporting director, Sylvain Blanquefort, tells us what happened to this powerful thirty-year-old Dutchman. A sports director to whom De Kleijn himself is very close, having already guided him at the Swiss Racing Academy, before it became Tudor. And he was also the one who wanted him on the professional team when the current team was being formed in 2022.
A trivial mistake
«Arvid – says Blanquefort – he suffered a knee injury during a high-altitude training camp with the team in April. It took a long time to recover from this injury. The team remained very attentive to his situation. They supported him as best they could in his recovery process with constant monitoring by the team doctors.
De Kleijn himself had spoken at the time of a silly mistake. He had hit his knee on the handlebars, apparently damaging the bony part of his kneecap. This compromised much of her season. But the athlete from Herveld, a town about a hundred kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, did not lose heart.
«As for all riders, these are never easy moments – continued Blanquefort – especially because the injury It arrived at a time when there were many races scheduled and many chances to win. But Arvid is an experienced rider, he was able to manage his frustration well and was patient with his comeback."
Return as a lion
One problem with cycling today is that if you miss the train due to relatively long-term injuries, then recovering is a real mess. The Dutchman did not race from the Scheldeprijs on April 3 until the opening time trial of the Tour of Denmark on August 14. But this doesn't seem to have affected De Kleijn, even though he's a sprinter. Perhaps the climber fares worse in this regard.
Blanquefort again: «For his recovery, we held an altitude training camp with the whole team in Khutai (in Austria, ed.) in July to best prepare for the second half of the season. This training period was really good for him and the road to recovery. The team gave him some more time to work before returning to racing, which he did at the Tour of Denmark. He was frustrated because he had a chance of winning a stage.
But evidently it's not easy even for the sprinter to find the pedal stroke, the brilliance to be able to exploit it on a group of opponents that is now very high in every race of the WorldTour calendar and beyond.
The Fourmies GP (which Arvid won, ed.) marked the beginning of a long series of sprint races towards the end of this season. And it's in these races that De Kleijn wants to be a key player and achieve as much as possible between now and the end of the year.
Blanquefort also discussed the European Championship, which proposed a route that was rather suited to De Kleijn's characteristics, but the sporting director maintains that certain choices are up to the Dutch national team coach.By the way, there are great sprinters in Holland and Arvid had just returned to racing. It was really complicated for him to be part of that selection."
De Kleijn leader
In recent days, De Kleijn has given several Dutch media outlets a glimpse of his ambitions for next year. After his victory in Isbergues, which came unexpectedly—he had fallen, got up, and won in a sprint, even though his celebration was limited by back pain (in the opening photo, ed.)— Arvid said he finally wants to take part in his first major Tour. We could see him in Italy or, why not, at the Tour de France, which seems to be opening the doors for the Swiss team. Meanwhile, between now and the end of the season. we will see him busy at the Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen, the Gooikse Pijl and the Tour of Langkawi.
"Arvid," Blanquefort continues, "is a pure sprinter. He's really very fast. In races that end in a sprint, he's always one of the favorites. Since last year the team has also been able to put a train at his disposal. The automatisms with the young train riders are good and they themselves are progressing and this offers better chances to Arvid.
«One of his qualities I appreciate? He's a true leader with his team. After a win or a less successful race, he always has the right words and tries to motivate everyone for the next day. He's a very direct and high-quality person."
