Timo Roosen cancels classics at DSM-firmenich PostNL: “Another big round”

Interview After nine years at Jumbo-Visma, Timo Roosen has changed teams. At DSM-company PostNL he is given a prominent place in Fabio Jakobsen’s sprint train. An interview with the 2021 Dutch champion about his switch, new role and making sharp choices.

How awkward was it to put on a different shirt on January 1 – after nine years?

“That was of course strange. I have always ridden in yellow and black and now suddenly in a completely different outfit. But that’s actually just fun. Unpacking those clothes is always something of a party. As if it were Sinterklaas and you received a whole package as a gift and you could put on a new, fresh outfit.”

What is it like to ride for another team after such a long time with Jumbo-Visma?
“It’s kind of a breath of fresh air. I still had a very good time at Jumbo-Visma, so in that respect it is not very different. But it’s good, I think, to have something different for once. Gather new people around you with new insights. Everything is slightly different with this team than with Jumbo-Visma.”

In recent years you have fallen somewhat out of the picture. What is the cause of this?
“At Jumbo-Visma they have a whole range of world-class players that they can open. My role therefore changed to something more on the
background, and more in a helping role. So I started taking the lead earlier and earlier in the races to fulfill my task there.

That is also what I was looking for in a new challenge with another team; to do my thing again later in the race and in finals.”

Also to pursue your own opportunities?
“No, not even that. It’s for Fabio in the sprint train. I don’t need to drive for myself anymore. I really see this new role as a challenge.”

What will be your role at dsm-firmenich PostNL?
“I’m the man before the lead-out man. We call that the positioner. We have now given that role a name, which makes communicating with everyone a little easier. It is difficult to determine which kilometers from the finish this will ideally be. The best thing would of course be if we could ride the lead-out within about two hundred meters of the finish.

That would be an ideal picture. But you don’t see that much in the big matches these days. It’s going to be more from important point to important point to ensure that the lead-out man is in a good place to do his job for the sprinter.”

How long do you expect it will take to get the sprint train properly on track?
“That is very difficult to say. We’re quite new to each other. But we do have a very good experienced group, including a few young men. I think that combination is very important. And I have a lot of confidence in it. But we have not raced in this composition once. That’s all going to be new. We will have to fully expand the lead-out and grow in it.

And yes, how long something like that takes… I wonder about it too. It won’t run completely smoothly right away. That does take some time. But of course it would be nice if we had things on track before the Grand Tours.

We often talk about the sprint train among ourselves. We have many meetings on this theme. This is also something we discussed: don’t panic if everything doesn’t run smoothly at first. Our ambition is to do everything right. But a competition is sometimes too difficult to do everything perfectly. There are actually no competitions where everything goes perfectly.”

In the past you have attracted sprints for Dylan Groenewegen with great success. What is it like to play a role in a sprint train again, now as a positioner?
“I have not completely stopped sprint preparations. Last year I did that for Olav (Kooij, ed.). But that was in smaller competitions and also in varying compositions. I am really looking forward to it. Especially to race again. Even if we have those meetings now. Talk a lot about those sprints and really try to coordinate them as much as possible. So yeah, I just can’t wait. I’m just really looking forward to it.”

You rode your last Grand Tour in 2018. Did that also play a role in your decision to move to a new team?
“That did play a role. With this team I also get a bit of security, with a slightly longer contract (for three seasons, ed.). Grand tours again on my program and a role that is more ambitious, I think, than the one I had at Jumbo-Vist.”

Jakobsen will ride the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. You too?
“The Giro anyway. I am now on the long list for the Tour de France. So that remains to be seen.”

Are you going to ride the spring classics again?
“No, no more classics. So that’s a change for me too. The focus is now completely on the sprint train, also in terms of training. But I actually like that, that I now really have one focus and can also work towards one goal in terms of training.’

Do you expect to miss riding the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix?
“When I sit in front of the TV, it will of course be a bit painful somewhere. I think Roubaix is ​​the most beautiful race of the year. But seeing it on TV once should be a success, I think. That is also enjoyable in a different way.”