Sunday April 7, 2024 at 5:39 PM
Video Tim van Dijke has lost his eighth place in Paris-Roubaix. The youngster from Visma | Lease a Bike rode away from a chasing group on the Roubaix velodrome, but did so by taking advantage under the Côte d’Azur (the blue strip on the velodrome) and that was not allowed. As a result, he was dropped to sixteenth place, the last place in the group in which he rode.
#ParisRoubaix 🇫🇷🚴♂️
Tim van Dijke moved back from spot 8 to spot 16
He cycled outside the course 🥴 pic.twitter.com/J2ArdbFbzn— Boertje Pummel (@BoertjePummel) April 7, 2024
In the absence of Wout van Aert, Dylan van Baarle, Matteo Jorgenson and early bad luck for Christophe Laporte, Visma | Lease a Bike of the young people come in Paris-Roubaix. Tim van Dijke, Mick van Dijke and Per Strand Hagenes colored the course on behalf of the yellow-blacks. Tim eventually crossed the line in eighth place. “This is quite a boost,” he told NOS afterwards, when he did not yet know that he would be punished.
“We have really worked towards this,” said 24-year-old Tim van Dijke. “I was a bit nervous yesterday because I know I’m fine. But there are also many things that happen in races like Paris-Roubaix that you have no influence on, such as punctures. Everything really has to be right on a day like today.”
The videos below were recorded before Tim van Dijke was punished by the jury
Afterwards, De Zeeuw was happy, but also critical of himself. “This is very nice, but we also made a lot of bad decisions. That is also a bit of inexperience,” he admits. “These are great learning situations that you find yourself in. And in the end I attacked until the sprinters let me ride.”
Tim calls his eighth place, almost five minutes after winner Mathieu van der Poel, a boost. “This is the highest level in the world, so top 10 is a great step towards the future for me. I don’t have to hide the fact that the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are my favorite races, and I want to win them too. The future will tell whether I will be good enough. Today there was no more than eighth place.”
Mick van Dijke: “I am speechless”
Twin brother Mick van Dijke was Visma |’s second in command Lease a Bike in the results, in nineteenth place. “We did great. I’m still speechless about it,” said Mick, who was also in a group with Van der Poel, Philipsen and Pedersen in the preliminary finals. “Then I had to stay calm, but everything came back. Still, I’m super satisfied. I am speechless, this still has to sink in.”
Listen now to the WielerFlits Podcast with the analyzes after Paris-Roubaix 2024!
