Rider diary with… Nils Eekhoff

Hey all,

I’m Nils Eekhoff, and in this edition of our rider diary, I’d like to give you all an exclusive glimpse inside my life while whilst being a rider at Team dsm-firmenich.

I joined the Development program in 2017 and – for me as a young guy coming from the Juniors – everything was completely new for me. At my first team camp, it was really nice to be able to mix amongst the Men’s program and I was extremely eager to perform right away and develop my teamwork, which was a significant distinction with the Juniors. I began studying sports marketing during that year, but I soon stopped to devote all my attention to cycling. After the results started to come in, such my win at the U23 Paris-Roubaix, I also recognised the potential.

That was a really great few years. To be honest, I’m a bit jealous of the guys on the Development program now. You can train with your teammates at the lovely Sittard Aqua-Step Keep Challenging Center. And now they have the opportunity to also race amongst the Men’s program which is really nice, the setup has really improved. It’s also encouraging to see that the flow through to the Men’s program continues with lots of talent coming through.

Dinosaur of the team

I’ve been a part of Team DSM’s Men’s program for four years now and I’m at ease here. I truly have a lot of faith in the group and the people who work here. In addition, the team has a positive vibe, and I like the way the structure is set up. As rider in the World Tour, structure helps us to do well as we focus entirely on training hard and performing in the race. This is all designed by a huge team of experts which eliminates any doubts riders may have with a clear route to follow.

As I’ve been in the team for a longer period, I do have a certain kind of leadership role for the boys that comes quite naturally. In terms of personality, the team has a great vibe, and our thoughts are frequently aligned. We are always chatting, laughing and engaging in meaningful conversations after our meals, in our rooms, and in the team bus.

Promising Spring Classics and setbacks

I prepared well for the Classics this year, but medical difficulties hindered me from reaching a top level which was quite disappointing. At Paris-Roubaix, I rode with one of the new Atmoz systems. It is a really cool, cutting-edge product with a bright future and in a few years, everyone will utilise the system if this technology keeps progressing.

Following Paris-Roubaix, I took some time to recover and refuel with good training, which soon paid off during my next race at Tro-Bro Léon. This really is a special race and one of the first gravel road races in Europe. It resembles Stade Bianche in Brittany somewhat. It was important for us to lead the peloton on every stretch of the 52 kilometres that we rode on dirt roads to prevent being involved in crashes. The guys were motivated to get Pavel Bittner and me into the finale as fresh as possible, and they did a really great job with it. I was able to move up well in the finale and pushed it all the way to the line to take third place.

First career Pro win with Team dsm-firmenich

I was also at the ZLM Tour on home soil in the Netherlands. I was feeling pretty confident for this prologue; I had thoroughly studied the course and completed a specific training effort for it. I knew I felt good during my warmup, so I gave it everything during the race and I went straight into the hot seat. I knew my time was fast, but it was pretty intense until the end with Sam Welsford finishing on four seconds, and Alex Edmondson and Olav Kooij coming closer to me with only one second. It was quite a relief when I heard I had won; I’ve been very close to my first pro win a few times and this was a good boost to my confidence. It is a shame that we didn’t sprint to another victory in the other stages, but as a team we have continued to develop our sprint train for the Tour de France.

Upcoming: Tour de France

On the same day as writing this, the team announced I’m riding the Tour de France. It will be my third Tour and it is always an honor to be selected for the biggest cycling race in the world. We’ve got a well-balanced team, who are very motivated to stand up for each other to go for some good results. I want to do everything I can to help the squad; Romain Bardet on the challenging mountain stages to keep him fresh for the finales, and I’ll do all in my power to give Sam Welsford the best lead-out in the sprints. I would like to jump into a day’s breakaway once, but we’ll focus on these two goals first and see how things go.

Hope to see you somewhere at the side of the road soon!