Joost wins a time trial

Joost Posthuma took fifth place overall and won the time trial of a short one-day Dutch race, the Ronde van Made (Tour of Made). In addition the the time trial, the race consisted of a 50K criterium (urban race) and a scratch race (a race consisting of multiple laps around a short circuit in which lapped riders are -- generally -- eliminated).

The following thumb images are from Joost's web site; click to view the (copyrighted) full size versions.

	Joost at the start of the race
	Joost at the start of the time trial segment
	During the time trial segment
	With Desirée van Deelen, the Rondemiss Profronde Maden, on the podium following the time trial
	At the start of the scratch race
	During the criterium

interview with Joost's parents

The photo shows Joost Posthuma with his parents following a Dutch race a couple of years ago. They were recently interviewed in a Dutch cyclists' journal, Wielernews. A pdf version of the interview is on Joost's web site. Joost's father, Hans (57), is head of sales for the Dutch branch of a German concern that makes coatings for use in lining water pipes and such applications. His mother, Annike (56), is receptionist for a real estate firm. At first they were not entirely pleased to see their only son become a professional cyclist, partly because of the danger and partly because he abandoned college before graduation. They were also a bit surprised when he chose road over mountain biking since the family and friends have been involved in that sport, but he found road racing to be more varied and interesting and he proved to be very good at it. Hans and Annike say that he advanced from amateur to professional ranks in fits and starts and only showed his full potential after being named to the Rabobank pro team. They understand that the margin of success in cycle racing is frustratingly small; a very tiny difference in skill and natural ability determines who wins and who comes in just behind. They know he's strongest in time trials but also say that for his size he's a surprisingly good climber, particularly on the short steep bergs in northern Europe. Though Joost isn't one of the top stars in the sport, he has achieved more than they could have wished and they are very proud of him.

Joost at Paris-Roubaix -- an update

Update on yesterday's post.

Joost did well in Paris-Roubaix. He joined an early escape of ten men which stayed away most of the race. When the break was finally caught, he helped team-leader Flecha to stay at the front. Flecha was eventually one of five top men in the key move at the end, but crashed on a slippery turn and came in sixth. His job done, Joost fell back to 39th.

In an interview on his web site, he says he's happy with his performance. The pace of the lead group was very fast, but -- since his presence was tactically a defensive move (he wasn't his team's protected rider in this race) -- he theoretically had less work to do that others in the group. All the same, photos show him up at the front rather than sitting at the back as you might expect (as for example this one) where he's third in in line.

Still, being in that group kept him from the worst difficulties faced by the rest of the riders, particularly the dangerous high-speed jostling leading up to the narrow cobbled sections.

Asked about the problems caused by the crowds of spectators, he said that he small lead group wasn't bothered by them. Even on the cobbled sections where the crush of people was most dense it wasn't bad. He had to keep his attention on the cobbles themselves -- they're very uneven and can be slippery as well -- but he didn't feel threatened, though he heard the noise the spectators made and smelled the beer they'd been consuming.

Asked whether he'd discussed the race with other team members, he said he hadn't had a chance to do that. Usually the the team showers in the team bus, but there are communal showers for all racers at Paris-Roubaix, and that kept him from getting together with them.

Asked how he planned to spend the rest of his Easter holiday, he said he was going to a cookout with his girl friend.

{Joost in the break; he's on the right; as you can see, this comes from PEZ cycling news.}

{This shot shows what the crowds were like — really not bad at all; you can also see that the weather was clear; it was a cool and windy, but dry day; source roadcycling.com}

These photos and the Youtube video are on his web site.

Joost rides the Hell of the North today

Paris-Roubaix starts in an hour or so. It's one of the best-known and most interesting one-day races of the year. Joost Posthuma hasn't ever done well in it and isn't considered a podium contender today. His role on the team is to provide support for the top riders in the major races and to see whether he can't come out on top in one or two of the minor ones. So far this season, he's one of these less familiar races — the Vuelta a Andalucia — and taken in second in another, better-known one — the KBC Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde (which he won last year).

If Paris-Roubaix is well-known, probably the most famous of the spring classics is the Ronde van Vlaanderen, which he rode, as domestique, last week. About that race, he reports in his home page that he crashed on the approach to one of the first of the dangerous steep, cobbled hills. These approaches are chaotic. Everyone wants to get in the front, the roads are very narrow — just cart paths — and there's consequently lots of high-speed jostling for position. It was cold, wet, and windy. The cobbles were slick and muddy. A rider in front of him slid into Joost and he went down. A whole bunch of others landed on top of him. Amazingly, he wasn't hurt and was able to catch up with the peloton farther along.

He managed to get up to the front of the pack at one of the the final climbs and to join a small break, leading the team's selected rider of the day. At this point his back tire punctures. The roads being narrow, he has to wait an agonizingly long time for a neutral support vehicle to bring a replacement wheel. He again squeezes through to regain the front, but the wheel he's obtained doesn't quite fit and starts causing problems for him. At this point he's managed to ride himself back into the race twice, something that takes strength and skill beyond the ability of most cyclists, and all has come to naught.

Joost's name doesn't often show up in the English-language cycling press, so I was surprised to see this on Cyclingnews this morning:

Posthuma hopes to flank Flecha on podium

By Brecht Decaluwé in Compiègne, France

While the Rabobank team usually tries to have several men in front during the Spring Classics, their tactics for the 107th edition of Paris-Roubaix are slightly different. One of their big guns, Belgium's Nick Nuyens, opted not to race on Sunday in order to be ready for the Amstel Gold Race next week.

The team will instead rely on Juan Antonio Flecha, often referred to as John Anthony Arrow, as its leader. For riders like Joost Posthuma it's an opportunity to step up into the spotlight and support Flecha as long as possible.

"During the Driedaagse De Panne – Koksijde I was already going well. Sadly enough our team ran into bad luck during the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Hopefully we can come back with a strong performance in Paris-Roubaix," Posthuma said.

The 27-year-old's record in the Queen of all Classics isn't impressive, but he has the body and the skills to have a good run on the pavé.

"If there's a big breakaway group gone early on then I should feature among them, but if the group isn't strong then I should be saving energy in the bunch; one shouldn't waste energy before the first cobbles arrive after one hundred kilometers. I firmly believe that Flecha can top the podium on Sunday and silently I'm hoping to flank him there," Posthuma said.

{Some of the cobbled pavé on today's route; source: Joost's page}

Paris–Roubaix - on wikipedia

107th Paris-Roubaix - Live coverage on dailypeloton

107th Paris-Roubaix - HIS France, April 12, 2009 live coverage on cyclingnews

{What the race looks like when it's cold and wet; this is George Hincapie at front; source: velostreet.kiev.ua}

{Photo of Joost from last season; source spsmedia.nl}

{Another; source meijco.nl}

more on Joost's win

About his win today Joost says, "Hier even een berichtje van mij. Het was vandaag een superdag. Ik had gehoopt om de tijdrit te winnen, maar dat ik dan ook de Driedaagse van De Panne win, is helemaal fantastisch. Het draaide gewoon super. Ik had echt power vandaag. Bij het eerste meetpunt had ik een goede tussentijd en de laatste vier kilometer ben ik op de elf vol doorgereden richting de finish. Vorig jaar kwam ik een paar seconden tekort en nu heb ik er een paar over. Fantastisch! Ik ga nu samen met Rick Flens, die ook al fantastisch heeft gereden, naar Lanaken toe. En dan op naar de Ronde van Vlaanderen. Groeten, Joost."

This roughly translates into:

Here's a quick message. This was a super day. I had hoped win the time trial, and winning the whole three-day race is entirely fantastic. My form was great. I had real power today in the time trial. I was riding well at the first time check and in the last four kilometres I kept on driving driving hard to the finish. Last year I finished second overall in the race. And now I have two podium finishes in it. Fantastic! I'm on my way to Lanaken now with Rick Flens, who also rode a good race. [Lanaken is site of the Amstel Gold race later this month.] And then on to the Ronde van Vlaanderen [on Sunday]. Greetings, Joost.

Cyclingnews says Posthuma's win was most impressive. The article says last year's winner of Three Days of De Panne went on to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen, but Joost isn't saying he can do that (I quoted him on this in the previous post). The article quotes him as saying the win is a very special victory for him and a totally unexpected one. He was surprised when he proved able to overcome a 27 second deficit in the afternoon TT, and didn't really think he had a chance until he found himself passing the rider who had started a minute before him. That gave him confidence to give it all he had up to the finish. The author also says he's got the knowledge and skill to win other big stage races and quotes him as saying "I'm not a specialist in the high mountains, but I can climb for sure. Overall, I'm a very constant rider."

Velonews calls Joost a "Dutch flier" and says he credits hard winter training for his time trial success.

Joost wins

Today Joost Posthuma won a major stage race, the Three Days of De Panne. He did this by placing high in the first three stages and acing this afternoon's time trial. The race is ideal for him since many of Europe's top riders are focussing on Sunday's Ronde van Vlaanderen, a one-day race that is one of Europe's most hotly-contested. Asked about prospects for that race, Joost told an interviewer that Rabobank's Juan Antonio Flecha will be the protected rider. "Flecha is our absolute leader for Sunday," he said, "But if I am in the right place at the right time, I might try for the win. Why not? I exclude nothing."

I post more on this from Joost's web page when he puts something up.

Here are final results from the Belgian site, sporza.

1. Joost Posthuma (Ned)	in 14u15'05"
2. Manuel Quinziato (Ita)	op 2"
3. Enrico Gasparotto (Ita)	8"
4. Niki Terpstra (Ned)	10"
5. Simon Spilak (Svn)	40"
6. Rick Flens (Ned)	46"
7. Alessandro Ballan (Ita)	53"
8. Magnus Bäckstedt (Zwe)	58"
9. George Hincapie (VS)	59"
10. Luca Paolini (Ita)	1'04"
18. Leif Hoste	1'38"
19. Kurt Hovelynck	1'41"

Joost Posthuma update

Time for an update on Joost Posthuma. You'll recall that he was hit by a car while on a training ride last summer. His injuries mended and he recovered his form late in the season. He generally served the Rabobank team in a supporting role through the fall races, but won one race in September, the Sachsen Tour.

Early winter, he took a holiday in Egypt and then went to the team training camp in Spain where he showed himself to be one of the better riders on this very strong team. He gave an Interview in January in which he said he expected his 2008 season to be much like 2007's with the addition of the Olympics. In answers to questions about illegal performance enhancing he said he's sorry drugs have given the sport a bad name and said he supports the stepped-up enforcement that's taking place this year. Concerning his role as support rider rather than team leader he said he likes Rabobank because, though he's not one of the stars, there are still races in which he gets to be the team leader (the protected rider).

He caught the 'flu during one of the season's first races. On recovering, he regained his form and was designated as the team leader for the Tirreno-Adriatico. In this race, a couple days after his 27th birthday, one of the riders in front of him crashed, bringing him down hard and causing a serious injury to his shoulder. He's since recovered from that injury and again regained his form. Today, in his first day back in on the team, he rode very aggressively in an extremely tough race, the Dwars door Vlaanderen. On a cold, wet, and windy day, he kept close to the front of the pack through most of the race then pushed forward to join a group of eight riders who were chasing down a leading group of three. The chase group came very close to closing the gap and in the end Joost made a highly respectable ninth.

Some Joost photos here.

Here are a few from his own web site and other sources (via Google image search):

Joost's a winner

Joost has won the Sachsen Tour. Here's the announcement from his team sponsor:

Wielernieuws ProTeam

29/07: (Sachsen) Posthuma seizes final victory

Rabo-cyclist Joost Posthuma (picture) has won the Sachsen Tour. In the last stage of the stage course, the final victory was never in danger. "It is nice for him that he is this good again this quickly," said team manager Frans Maassen shortly after the national anthem had been played. William Walker also found himself on the podium to receive the purple mountain jersey. That jersey was also never seriously attacked in the final stage from Dresden to Dresden (157 kilometers).

The weather in Eastern Germany had been nice earlier this week, but it rained cats and dogs on the last day. It was so dangerous that the jury wisely decided to draw up the final classification before the three local rounds. After that, the cyclists could only compete for the stage victory. That went once again to T-Mobile-cyclist Stephan Schreck. "They might have won four against our one, but ours was most the important one," concluded the team manager correctly.

No crashes Rabos

Schreck was part of a lead group of seven cyclists that stayed ahead in the difficult stage. That escape took place in the first eighty kilometers already, which were also this stage's center of gravity. "The team cycled so strongly that it was no more than logical that no dangerous cyclists got away," said Maassen, who saw many crashes, including one by Bobby Julich but fortunately none including guys of his own. "All in all, it went super here."

The team manager also wanted to set yesterday's classification straight. Sébastian Langeveld was listed last in Saturday's classification but that was not correct. "He had overtaken five people, so something must have gone wrong with the timer. Sébastian's position has been corrected today; he turned out to be tenth. So the overall picture of the team was already very good at that point." It was there that the Rabo-formation laid the groundwork for the victory in the team classification.

Sachsen Tour. Stage 5, Dresden - Dresden, 157,7 km.
	Cyclist	Country	Team
1.	Stephan Schreck	Ger	TMO	3:24:49
2.	Erik Hoffmann	Nam	3CG	0:00
3.	Tom Stamsnijder	Hol	GST	0:00
4.	René Weissinger	Ger	VBG	0:00
5.	Pieter Ghyllebert	Bel	JAC	0:44
6.	Eric Bauman	Ger	TMO	0:44
7.	Kenny de Haes	Bel	JAC	0:44
8.	Marcel Barth	Ger	TET	0:44
9.	Karsten Hess	Ger	TET	0:44
10.	Kenny Lisabeth	Bel	JAC	0:44
37.	Pedro Horrillo	Spa	RAB	0:44
40.	Mathew Hayman	Aus	RAB	0:44
43.	Joost Posthuma	Hol	RAB	0:44
44.	Marc de Maar	Hol	RAB	0:44
53.	Koos Moerenhout	Hol	RAB	0:44
57.	William Walker	Aus	RAB	0:44
60.	Sébastian Langeveld	Hol	RAB	0:44
65.	Thorwald Veneberg	Hol	RAB	0:44

Final General Classificaion.
	Cyclist	Country	Team
1.	Joost Posthuma	Hol	RAB	18:28:59
2.	Bobby Julich	USA	CSC	0:29
3.	Michael Schär	Swi	AST	0:31
4.	Björn Schröder	Ger	MRM	0:45
5.	Nicki Sörensen	Dan	CSC	1:17
6.	René Weissinger	Ger	VBG	1:18
7.	Sebastian Siedler	Ger	MRM	1:46
8.	Serguei Yakovlev	Kaz	AST	2:03
9.	Matti Breschel	Dan	CSC	2:03
10.	Mariusz Witecki	Pol	VBG	2:05
12.	Marc de Maar	Hol	RAB	2:10
16.	William Walker	Aus	RAB	3:07
30.	Koos Moerenhout	Hol	RAB	27:58
54.	Sébastian Langeveld	Hol	RAB	44:54
55.	Pedro Horrillo	Spa	RAB	45:15
61.	Mathew Hayman	Aus	RAB	46:36
82.	Thorwald Veneberg	Hol	RAB	49:48

Fair use notice: I've reproduced this page on the understanding that Rabo prepared it in the manner of a press release for widespread distribution. I'll take it down if I'm wrong about that.

Joost wins a stage and dons yellow

Here's a bit of good cycling news. Joost Posthuma is racing again. He's recovered from the injuries he suffered when a motorist hit him during a training ride a couple of months ago and he's won the time trial stage of the Sachsen Tour in Germany and in doing so has taken over the overall lead in the five-day race.

He came in 26th and 23rd in the first and third stages, in that order. He was in a large, successful break in the second stage and came in 19th.

I've copied a description of his time trial win from the Rabo site, below.

Tomorrow's stage is the last.

His achievement gives me something to cheer about. You can read the result in this Cyclingpost article, from which I got the photo that appears above.

Joost's web site has a full account as does the Sachsen Tour site which has this photo:


Meanwhile, you can read about today's stage in the Tour de France, here, if you wish.

Here's the account from the Rabo site:

28/07: (Sachsen) Double win for Posthuma
Joost Posthuma

In the last few days, Rabo-cyclist Joost Posthuma was keeping up well with the pack. Remarkable, because the Dutchman only made his comeback on Wednesday after being out for a few months. In the Sachsen Tour's time trial on Saturday, Posthuma proved that the perceptions were not wrong. He defeated the big favorite Bobby Julich. Because of his stage victory, the Rabo-cyclist, who would probably have been in the Tour de France right now if it had not been for his training accident in mid-April, is now also the new leader in the general classification. The last stage is on Sunday.

Afterwards, Posthuma was also surprised that he had been faster than everyone else. "They told me shortly after my accident that I would not be racing at all for the rest of the year. And now this happens. I am really going to enjoy this tonight." He had shared the good feeling that Frans Maassen had about him. "Friday's stage was the queen's stage. I was okay uphill; I was at least as good as the others."

Posthuma 28 seconds faster than Julich
The time trial was far from easy. "Difficult actually. The same road up and down, but the way back going slightly up. I totally went for it. Everything turned out the way it was supposed to. It is always uncertain how your time trial will go after a long period without coursing." Posthuma took an impressive 28-second lead over Julich. "With a team like this we should be able to hold on to the yellow jersey. After all, the center of gravity in the concluding stage is in the first eighty kilometers already."

The cyclist from Hengelo, the Netherlands, is now aiming at the Vuelta because he is determined to be in one major tour every year. But there are two other 'dishes' on the menu before the Spanish roads: the Classica San Sebastian and the Tour of Germany. But Posthuma first wants to finish the job in Sachsen. There is a chance that the Rabo ProTeam will return home with two jerseys on Sunday if William Walker manages to hold on to the mountain jersey on Sunday as well.

Here's a final photo from the Sachsen site. Click to enlarge.

Joost update

Joost Posthuma's web site has photos of the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde race in which he took second place. Joost was hospitalized to repair a leg wound he suffered in that race and consequently missed the Tour of Flanders. He says, "Hallo all. Unfortunately this year no Ronde van Vlaanderen for me. I had to go to the hospital in Amersfoort for ultra-sound examination of my damaged knee. This wound troubled me during the whole three-day Belgian race. Fortunately the ultra-sound showed no breakage but only a pretty massive bruise. I must do now take a week off from racing to recover and will therefore do my daily cycling quietly on the streets of Binnen. If all goes well, I'll soon be driving down to do Paris-Roubais [April 14th]. Groeten, Joost"