Dylan van Baarle will ride the Olympic road race on Saturday after he celebrated his girlfriend Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s success in the mountain bike race.
“If you look at this medal, then this gold is also Dylan’s”, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot said. “Dylan means so much to me. I want to thank him for everything he has done for me in the run-up to the Olympic Games. In the weeks leading up to this event, we trained hard together at altitude in Tignes and he certainly made sure that I could grow to this top level. I share this gold with him.”
Van Baarle was supposed to ride the Tour de France, but a crash in the Criterium du Dauphine, in which he suffered a broken collarbone, made this an impossible mission. After surgery, he was able to start training again quickly. As every disadvantage has its advantage, it turned out to be possible for the rider of Visma-Lease a Bike to complete an altitude training camp in Tignes together with Pauline.
“I get very good feedback from Dylan,” says Netherlands national coach Koos Moerenhout. “After his crash in the Dauphine, I was quite shocked and wondered whether he could still make it to the Olympic Games.”
“The operation took place immediately and he was able to start cycling again quite soon after. He was already in good shape with the perspective of the Tour and such form is not easily lost. Dylan is in good spirits and is 100% confident that he will be in top form at the start of the Olympic competition on Saturday.”
