By “having fun and training hard” with Van der Poel, the Van Dijke brothers know they truly belong

Tim van Dijke impressed with second place in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and even looked on course to repeat that level at E3 Saxo Classic, only to blow himself up a little in Van der Poel’s wheel. Mick van Dijke has so far spent more time working for others, but together the brothers showed their very best in Paris-Nice, where in stage four they helped turn the general classification upside down.

It is a day they still remember vividly, and one that will stay with them for quite some time. “Wind, hail, rain — those are the days everyone is a little afraid of,” Tim told NOS. '“It was unique, the way Mick and I were out in front there and put the GC into shape. At the highest level. We didn’t expect that. But it did show that the Omloop wasn’t a one-off.”

Second place in the opening weekend means even more to Tim, though, because it came on the kind of terrain where he wants to make his mark. “You always dream of winning those races and shaping those races. To finish second behind Mathieu like that means you’re no longer just training with a dream — you’re really training to do it in those races. It confirms that in the coming years you should aim for nothing less than winning a Classic and standing on the podium.”

Riding at the front alongside Van der Poel is something they are used to by now. The Van Dijke brothers spent a large part of the winter in the world star’s training group. “A golden combination: having fun and training incredibly hard. And not losing yourself in all sorts of details that hardly matter. All I did was eat, train, sleep. As few distractions as possible. It’s not that hard to get better. You just have to make the right choices, I think.”

It has very obviously paid off, because the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe brothers have taken a huge step forward this season. “In previous years I trained hard too, but then you’d suddenly be riding in snow or hail. Every day you’d spend 45 minutes taking layers on and off. So much energy gets lost in those kinds of things.”

While Tim has already finished second in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and helped force the split on the Taaienberg in E3, there has been slightly less visible reward on the cobbles for his brother so far. “But I’m convinced Mick can do the same as what I showed in the Omloop. It’s only a matter of time. If it happens this weekend already, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

The results are starting to come more and more often, which means the pair are now allowed to dream big. Ask Mick what the ultimate goal is and he is crystal clear: “Winning Paris-Roubaix.” Tim adds with a grin: “The Tour of Flanders would be nice too.”