Ready for the chaos: Timo’s first WorldTour cobbles

The Classics are just around the corner. The nervous energy, the narrow roads, the fight for position before the cobbles even begin. For Timo de Jong, this year’s Opening Weekend marks something extra special: his very first WorldTour race, and not just any race: Omloop Nieuwsblad.

A few months ago, he was still proving himself. Now, after a strong winter and an impressive start to the season, he lines up at the start of cycling’s chaotic and iconic classics season opener. And he’s ready.

“All good on my side,” Timo smiles as we spoke to him with one week to go until Opening Weekend. “I had a really good winter and I’m heading into the Classics with confidence.”

After already riding for Team Picnic PostNL as a stagiaire towards the end of last season, the 26-year-old earned himself a full contract over the winter. The first months in the team environment have only strengthened his belief that he made a good choice.

“The first months with the team have been really good,” he explains. “We had two strong training camps, and then the first race of the season came quickly in Saudi Arabia. The first race is always a bit of a question mark; you don’t know exactly where you stand or how the rest of the peloton is. But as a team we rode really well. Not just the results, but also how we raced for each other. That was good to see.”

That first race was the AlUla Tour, and Timo didn’t just blend into the bunch. He immediately finished twice inside the top ten on the opening two stages. “Two top tens in the first two race days of the year are always good for the confidence,” he says. “It shows that we’re in a good place. But it also keeps you hungry to do even better in the next races.”

Hungry, and motivated, because what comes next is a step into a different world. “I think it’s really special that Omloop Nieuwsblad will be my first WorldTour race,” he says. “I’ve always loved watching the cobbled Classics, and now being able to ride one myself only motivates me more.”

Ask him what image immediately comes to mind when he thinks of Omloop, and he doesn’t hesitate. “The chaos,” he laughs. “The fight for position before the cobbled sections and the climbs. That’s the first thing, but it’s also the moment when the season really starts.”

Born and raised in Goes, Zeeland, cycling has always been part of Timo’s life. His grandfather rode, his uncle too, and his father worked as a directeur sportif. Though he started out playing football, a race bike at nine years old changed everything. By the time he won the Tour of Flanders U19 as a junior, it was clear that tough one-day races suited him. Now, years later, he gets to experience the real thing. “I watched Omloop a lot when I was younger,” he says. “It’s definitely one of those races you dream about riding one day. The Flemish Classics are special. Flanders is the heart of cycling at that moment, and to be part of that atmosphere is something I’m really looking forward to.”

The crowds. The narrow roads. The Muur van Geraardsbergen looming in the finale. “I’m especially looking forward to the atmosphere,” he says. “But also just being in that race, being part of it. It’s hard to predict what to expect exactly. I will go into it with a lot of confidence. We worked hard this winter, and we know we’re on the right path.”

For Timo, success isn’t defined purely by personal results. “Omloop will be successful for me if we can achieve a strong result as a team, whether that’s me or someone else. If we show ourselves as a team and ride a good race, that would be perfect.”

That mindset of being calm, disciplined, team-first, is exactly what helped him take the next step. Last October, back riding for his former team after his stagiaire period at Team Picnic PostNL, he surprised many by winning a stage in the Tour of Holland. It was a breakthrough moment that confirmed his upward trajectory. Now, he stands on the brink of the sport’s biggest stage.

After Omloop, his spring continues with Milano–Sanremo and the rest of the Flemish Classics, races that suit his profile as a strong one-day rider with a fast finish. “The goal is to keep progressing,” he says. “Every year I’ve taken small steps forward. When you see that progress, you stay motivated and keep believing.”

This weekend, the next step begins, in the famous ’t Kuipke in Ghent.