Twelve months ago Cyclingnews sat down with Kiel Reijnen in a hotel lobby on the outskirts of Benidorm during his first training camp with Trek-Segafredo.
Since then the 30-year-old has made his WorldTour debut, started and finished his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta a Espana and picked up a pocket of top ten finishes in major races. It’s almost a year since our last sit-down interview and we meet Reijnen at the same hotel to look back at his season and his role for next year.
At the end of 2015 Reijnen outlined his aims for his first season at Trek, with gaining experience and being competitive high on his list.
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“Did I hold true to my word? I think that I notched a number of top tens that I would love to turn into podiums next year, given the extra experience and added miles that I have in the legs from doing a Grand Tour.”
Coming from America
Reijnen was unquestionably a big fish in a small pond when he raced in the US ProContinental ranks but his performances in 2015 were enough for Trek to offer him deserved a two-year contract. The step up to WorldTour is a challenge for any athlete but Reijnen’s maturity meant that he came into the higher echelons with a calmer, and more experienced outlook. That resolve was certainly tested at points during 2016.
“The lowest spot was around Suisse. I was tired, the weather was bad and I was just getting my ass kicked. Then the Vuelta was what I expected. It was brutally hard but I was prepared for the races with the help of my coach, Ben Day. But at Suisse we rode on the front for the first day and then I did a lead out on another day. I definitely wasn’t the biggest help for those nine days.
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