When you race on a devo team as strong as Jumbo-Visma’s, chances to go for yourself may be few and far between, so a rider must grab them when the opportunities do come their way.
Darren Van Bekkum has managed to do that this season, with a one-day and a stage race podium in Croatia, as well as riding hard for others when required.
Jumbo-Visma have recognised the third-year U23s hard work, and together, they have decided to renew their collaboration for 2024, Darren’s last U23 season. I called Van Bekkum recently to get to
know him a bit better.
“My season started very very well in Croatia. After three years, these were my first results in both one-day races and in GC. After that, I’ve ridden steadily for the last two months. Sadly, I crashed about 6 weeks ago in training and broke my collarbone. I was in Spain preparing for the Alpes Isere
Tour and Course de la Paix, which I would have done with the Dutch national team, and I sadly couldn’t ride those races. Luckily, I had a fast recovery and could ride the U23 Nationals RR. My form was fine in the first part of the race, but the form wasn’t the same as the start of the season due to
all the training I had missed. That’s how things are going. After Croatia, I did some nice races but they didn’t really suit me, as they didn’t have long climbs, and I also did a lot of one-day races. It was really disappointing then for the injury to mean I missed some races that suited me.”
Speaking about his strengths and weaknesses, Darren tells me that when the road is going uphill, that suits him best. As well as that, he can normally be one of the fastest climbers in a reduced sprint.
“When it goes uphill, that suits me. I’m also very punchy, I have a good sprint for a climber. Hard stages with lots of climbs and a small group at the finish, usually I can be one of the fastest guys. I have focussed a lot more on longer climbs this year, which also can suit me well. For sure, uphill is my terrain!”
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Speaking on his 3rd place on GC at the Istrian Spring Trophy and his same position at Trofej Umag, Van Bekkum tells me the first reaction was relief at finally being able to show his team he can get his
own top results.
“It felt like a relief, I haven’t been cycling for long, so I’ve had to learn everything at the team about tactics and racing when I joined in 2021. There have been some tough times, the watts have been there and I’ve had nice results, but no podiums or anything. I had a good winter and felt stronger than in 2022. I felt very good in Croatia, and the last two years I have spent a lot of time riding for
other guys, so it feels good to show the team I can also get results too.”
Darren was recently confirmed to be sticking with Jumbo-Visma’s Development team for his last U23 season in 2024, along with another recent U23 Cycling Zone alumni, Colby Simmons. Darren talked about all he has learned at the Dutch team, and why remaining with them for his last U23 season
made sense.
“If I look back on the last 2.5 years, I see a massive improvement in literally everything, tactics, racing, form, nutrition… For me, it was a good step to continue this. I know things are going really well. I want to keep improving for the rest of 2023 and also 2024, and this is the best place to
develop and make the most of my U23 years.”
Another highlight of the year was Van Bekkum making his debut with the WorldTour team at the Volta a Limburg Classic. Darren went into some more detail about his experience for me.
“That was super cool, I was really happy to finally take part in a race with the WorldTour team. Limburg isn’t the biggest race, but it was really tough! It was a weird feeling to ride with the pros and wear the WorldTour jersey with the WorldTour sponsors. I learned a lot, riding with some older guys who have a lot of experience. It was nice.”
We touched on some of his goals for the rest of the year, which involve some hard stage races in the next months, and Darren hopes to be in top shape for those events.
“I’m preparing for Tour Alsace, the goal is to be there in good form and hopefully ride for a result. The finish atop La Planche des Belles Filles can suit me, that’s the main goal. I’m building my form back up, so we can see after that race what other races are coming. Isard at the end of the year
could be another big goal.”
Finally, we talked about Darren’s dream pro win. He admits his answer is quite standard, but it was further emphasised by the performance of his pro team in 2022, which he will hope they can emulate in 2023.
“It’s maybe the standard answer but the Tour de France. That was always in my head for this question. When I see how Jumbo-Visma rode at the race last year, that was really amazing. I’d love to ride that race in the future, that’s my dream goal to win it. For me, that’s the biggest race in the world.”
Darren will hope to pick up where he left off earlier in the season in the next month or so, and if he can continue to ride well for his teammates and score some more results for himself, he is going to have a real shot at making it as a pro when his time at this level comes to an end in 2025.
U23 Cycling Zone wishes to thank Darren for taking the time to answer my call, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season and beyond. You can find Darren’s Instagram linked here.
U23 Cycling Zone 