It’s a big name in the Dutch Cross Triathlon scene: Joep Staps became National Champion Cross Triathlon in 2018 and is therefore the ideal person to be the first athlete to test the Dutch Championships (2019) and World Championships (2020) bike track for Cross Triathlon. He has already done so and his first reaction speaks volumes: ,,This is amazing. It’s really a very attractive course.”
In 2019 Challenge Almere-Amsterdam of course organizes the Dutch Championships Cross Triathlon in September and one year later, in 2020, the ITU Multisport World Championships will follow. Part of this World Championships will be the Cross Triathlon. Staps is already looking forward to both championships and was allowed to explore the bike course last week. He rode both the 7 kilometers loop over Braambergen, including 200 altitude meters per lap, and the 7 flatter but technical kilometers over De Kemphaan. ,,The course is not only cool, but also varied. The track builders have really done their best”, Staps says in a first reaction.
Already after 200 meters of biking he called the course ‘cool’. ,,And that feeling has only become bigger now that I’ve been allowed to ride the whole course. You expect Almere to be flat, but the track has big differences in height. It has steep, fast and technical parts. This is definitely a course that makes it very hard to get into your rhythm. That makes it nice but challenging.”
In any case, according to Staps, it is a course that suits him well. ,,I don’t get scared of it, but I really want to race it. I will definitely come to Almere to defend my National title and hope to be back for the World Championships as well.”