Interview Maaike Boogaard
Maaike Boogaard has been one of the biggest domestic talents in the youth categories. She became Dutch national champion in the juniors category but she wouldn't only keep cycling in Holland. A year later she would start racing for a Slovenian team. She grew with the team to the World Tour level,, where she helps former worldchampion Marta Bastianelli to takes the victory. How does the still only 23 years old from North-Holland look at it herself?
The year is halfway, how do you look back at the first half of the season?
My first part of the season began steady. I've noticed directly that I made a good step in my development again in Winter and I could serve my leader very well in my role as team mate. Unfortunaly, I've got corona i April and I couldn't race for a long time. I had to abandon my first race after my corona break due to a crash and I didn't recover well from it. So the first part of the season was like a rollercoaster to me. But all of this passed now and I'm going to have a nice trainings period ahead for the rest of the season.
You started your internationa carreer at BTC Ljubljana, a team that later made a fusion and made the step to the World Tour level, how did you experience that step up?
It was an exciting step for me because I became part of a team with a good amount of big names. It was a switch in my role of having a free role towards being a domestique for my leaders. What I really enjoyed! I've found my spot in the team quite fast and I'm still vey happy about that.
As a Dutchwoman, you live for a big part of the year in Slovenia, would you recommend the country also to other people?
Slovenia is in my eyes really a top country for cycling. When I came here for the first time, I also had my prejudices but I came back on them quickly. It's so green, it has mountains, hlls and even flat areas. Actually, there is something for everyone. There is always a new route to discover, what also keeps it nice and that brings new challenges. For me, Slovenia became a second home and I think that for sure, most of the people don't thinkabout cycling in Slovenia instead of Spain or other famous cycling destinations but I invite everyone to come experience how beautiful cycling can be here.
In what kind of races would you like to develop yourself in the future?
Good question... I'm still not sure myself about what my qualities could be. Time trials were always one of my better qualities. In that I really want to keep developing myself but next to that, the Belgian classics also alwayys were beautiful to me and that suited me well. I still keep amazing myself in certain races where I wouldn't say that it was my terrain, so who who knows what is still possible.
Are you glad about the return of the Tour de France on the calendar?
I think that it's certainly again a big step in the good direction for women's cycling I don't know myself if I would be able to immediatly take part but the idea that we get a real Tour de France will be a highlight of the season for sure.
You're sometimes serving Marta Bastianelli, do you learn a lot from her?
Sure! I learn so much by my team mates. Also because they still always give me tip about what can be improved and they also guide me through the final. I think it's a very important part of my development.
Which races are on your schedule for the rest of the season?
Oef, that's a good question because there are still quie a lot haha. My next race will problably be San Sebastian. After that I want to focus mostly on the stage races that will come like the Boels Ladies Tour and the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta. But also in the last part of the season I still have many races on the program like Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Drenthe for example, that I'm really looking forward to.
When and how did you start cycling and who were your idols?
When I was 7 years old , my parents liked that I did a sport becausse I had too much energy that I couldn't let out. I come from a cycling family (my uncle is for example Jelle Nijdam, my father and grandfathers also cycled), so then I was allowed to try to make a little tour on a loan bike and since then I started enjoying it! My biggest idol in the past was Cancellara. I really enjoyed his way of racing.
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