It's been said before, but as some people are a bit surprised by Kruijswijks progress it has to be said again.
In 2011 when he also was really good in the 3rd week of the Giro where he also lost lots of time in the first week he eventually finished 8th at the age of 23. He went on to win a stage in Suisse and finishing 3rd in the GC.
After that he started becoming average..very average and then they found he had an blockage of his femoral artery. He had surgery at the of 2014 or start of 2015. Not sure exactly when. So last year was a big year for him as it would decide wether he would reach the level he had at the age 23 again.
He went to the Giro, but the team decided to just go for an attacking team. He had to work for himself and because of poor positioning and Astana ripping the race apart he lost a lot of time in the first week. Eventually he got the confirmation that he's still a very good rider by climbing with the best and finishing 7th in the GC after losing 11 minutes in the first week.
This year LottoNL send a team completely in support of Kruijswijk and he allready showed in Yorkshire that he allready had quite a decent form before the Giro even started. The fact that LottoNL have dropped him at the front of the bunch of every climb in the first 1.5 week really helped him. No wasting his own energy on places where he shouldn't waste his energy.
Now he's showing the progress that was still possible. His career has been delayed by the blockage of his femoral artery, but thank god they fixed that!
I remember in 2011 when Kruijswijk did so well he was a bit of a surprise for Rabo back then. They guys like Gesink and Mollema who were among the best in the U23 ranks, while Kruijswijk was decent, but not a star in the youth ranks. Gesink and Mollema just like most dutch talents who were great in the youth ranks stopped progressing quickly so Kruijswijk was my hope back then to progress 'normally'. No youth peek, but a good normal build up and that's pretty much what's happening.
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Posted this in the stage thread, but figured it's needed here as well.
In 2011 when he also was really good in the 3rd week of the Giro where he also lost lots of time in the first week he eventually finished 8th at the age of 23. He went on to win a stage in Suisse and finishing 3rd in the GC.
After that he started becoming average..very average and then they found he had an blockage of his femoral artery. He had surgery at the of 2014 or start of 2015. Not sure exactly when. So last year was a big year for him as it would decide wether he would reach the level he had at the age 23 again.
He went to the Giro, but the team decided to just go for an attacking team. He had to work for himself and because of poor positioning and Astana ripping the race apart he lost a lot of time in the first week. Eventually he got the confirmation that he's still a very good rider by climbing with the best and finishing 7th in the GC after losing 11 minutes in the first week.
This year LottoNL send a team completely in support of Kruijswijk and he allready showed in Yorkshire that he allready had quite a decent form before the Giro even started. The fact that LottoNL have dropped him at the front of the bunch of every climb in the first 1.5 week really helped him. No wasting his own energy on places where he shouldn't waste his energy.
Now he's showing the progress that was still possible. His career has been delayed by the blockage of his femoral artery, but thank god they fixed that!
I remember in 2011 when Kruijswijk did so well he was a bit of a surprise for Rabo back then. They guys like Gesink and Mollema who were among the best in the U23 ranks, while Kruijswijk was decent, but not a star in the youth ranks. Gesink and Mollema just like most dutch talents who were great in the youth ranks stopped progressing quickly so Kruijswijk was my hope back then to progress 'normally'. No youth peek, but a good normal build up and that's pretty much what's happening.
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Posted this in the stage thread, but figured it's needed here as well.