Tim Marsman on cloud nine after special first weeks at Alpecin-Premier Tech: “It was quite a surprise”

His form is clearly good, although we had mainly seen the Dutchman near the front this season when he made the early break in stage 2 of the Tour of Oman. Alpecin-Premier Tech had also seen enough to know he was going well, and so they selected him for Milan-San Remo on Saturday. For Marsman himself, that came somewhat out of the blue.

“That was quite a surprise for me. It wasn’t really the plan, but things are going so well that it got added to the programme,” he said on Wednesday before the start of the Tour of Bruges, speaking to, among others, IDLProCycling.com. The strong legs are leaving Marsman pleased. “I’m very satisfied with how everything is going.”

In Sanremo, the rider from Hattem made his debut in a Monument and was immediately given an important job. “I was supposed to drop Van der Poel and Philipsen off at the Cipressa. Unfortunately, because of the crash with Pogačar, I didn’t make it there.” And Marsman was not just caught up in that incident. He actually landed on the world champion’s broken bike.

When asked about that strange situation, Marsman could only smile. “I was lying on Pogačar’s bike,” he laughed. “I heard he had already said at the press conference that there was an Alpecin rider asking how he was doing and whether he could have his bike back. I told him that was fine, but the two Visma guys were still lying on top of me.” Pogačar indeed said afterwards that an Alpecin rider was on top of his bike and that he first asked whether he was okay.

So the Alpecin rider could not move. “As soon as they” — meaning the Visma duo — “got off me, he could take his bike and continue.” It was an unfortunate moment, but Marsman also saw the positive side. “The fact that I crashed there with him, in that position, is actually positive. It was a funny moment.”

That meant the Dutchman was still there with the very best riders at that point in the race. “The fact that I’m there in the race basically means I was in a good position and had good legs. It’s just a shame that I crashed there and couldn’t do anything more. But it is positive that I was there and also how I still feel now.”

In Milan-San Remo, Marsman also raced alongside Van der Poel for the first time. So how is his relationship with the Dutch star? “That always has to grow a bit, of course. But everything is going well. You’re simply treated like a colleague and a team-mate, so that can only be a good thing.”

All in all, Marsman is “very positive” about that relationship and believes it can keep developing. “If you do a high-altitude training camp together, for example, the bond will probably grow even more. That will all come. For now, I’m very happy with where I stand,” said a satisfied Marsman, who left the VolkerWessels development team for the WorldTour set-up at Alpecin.

That step has made a real difference, but where has he noticed it most? “I think mainly in the support around everything. With all the details around racing, there are simply more people involved. They can look into things better and also in more detail. From there, you can keep growing as a rider.”

And it is not just that. “The races are harder and the level is higher as well. If you recover well from that and can compete at that level, you automatically become a better rider too. In the end, it’s all the small things added together that make you a much better rider,” Marsman concluded.