Before his first race of the season this coming weekend at Strade Bianche, we asked Jan to share with us a couple thoughts!
“I worked hard in February. My trainings ranged from short, highly intensive to long, and more endurance trainings. We planned to would start the season in Belgium, racing Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne – Bruxelles – Kuurne but we had to make some small adjustments to my race calendar due to a crash on a training. I crashed because there was oil on the road and I hit the ground pretty hard. I suffered a slight concussion and some bruises, of course. That is why we decided I should rest and postpone my start of the season.”
“After a few days my condition normalised, and I could do some final trainings before the races. I will start racing in Italy, first at Strade Bianche and then Tirreno Adriatico is on the schedule. I’m happy with my condition, but it’s difficult to say how good I am because I don’t know how good others are. It is always tricky to know where you are with your performance at the beginning of the season. Anyway, I feel good and I think I can race well.“
“Like each year, I also set some goals for this season. According to my current race program, I would like to race well at these first races and repeat the good results at the Tour of Romandie, Giro d’Italia and Tour of Slovenia. I would also like to make my Olympic and Vuelta debut. I target a stage win at La Vuelta. The bottom line and the most importantly is to stay safe and sound throughout the whole season.“