Coming from Purmerend in the province of North Holland, Julius has been racing in the pro ranks since the middle of 2018; plying himself ably at the service of his teammates and putting his good engine on display chasing down breakaways or positioning his sprint train for the finales. His crowning glory so far as a rider is a WorldTour level win at the 2021 Tour de Pologne, where he proved to be the strongest and fastest from the breakaway.
Not from a competitive cycling family as such, Julius was inspired to get into the sport through his dad who was and still is a recreational rider. His older brother was also a rider, but he stopped competing at the U17 level after a crash. At the age of around 12 Julius started training and his older brother and dad joined him on rides, with the trio growing their bond through cycling, eventually going on cycling holidays to the south of Holland and then to places like Mont Ventoux.
Football was Julius’ first love though and he’s a childhood fan of Ajax, with Wesley Sneijder his sporting idol. Playing the sport for a long time, Julius honed his skills as a defender, using his size and strength to great effect, but as he grew older his “joints weren’t as good” and he focused more and more on cycling and from there the rest is history.
“Cycling was something different and exciting, but in the beginning, it was scary too. I really like racing and it started going well for me so that of course made it even more enjoyable.”
Now Julius thoroughly enjoys going out for training rides and enjoys the “freedom” that the sport brings, being able to see and do a lot. When he’s not putting in the training efforts on recovery days, he also likes the social aspect of the sport and how it’s a “good way to catch up with some friends” and enjoy a nice coffee stop.
“For me 70 percent of the motivation of going out on my bike is becoming better and being a competitive racer, while the other 30 percent is that I simply just enjoy riding my bike, seeing new things and being active.”
Forming a part of the sprint group in the team, Julius is good friends with Fabio [Jakobsen] and the proposition of working together again in the same team was something that excited him.
“I had some good talks with Roy [Curvers] and he explained the plan and what the team were looking for, and it sounded like a great fit for me and where I am in my career.”
It’s clear from speaking to the open-minded and talkative Julius that he is very assured in himself and confident in where his abilities lie. With a smile he admits that crossing the line first yourself is great, but he then jokes that he’s done it only once himself as a pro, so working with teammates who win is then the next best thing.
“The goal is to try to win sprints and be the vest version of myself to help the team. If I can ride 100 kilometres on the front to bring back a break, or do some positioning work in the finale, and we win; then that’s really fulfilling for me.”
Thinking of himself as an “outgoing”, “driven” and “down-to-earth” individual, Julius hopes to be able to bring some horsepower and determination to the group but equally bring “good vibes” off the bike to the dinner table in the evening, making everyone closer as a unit.
When he’s not riding then Julius likes to spend time with his wife and young children as throughout the year, he can be away for over 100 days so the time with them is valuable. If he’s taking some time from daddy day-care then he enjoys a good game of FIFA on the console, so we’re expecting some exciting match-ups between him and the rest of the guys throughout the year! Finally, Julius says that his interesting fact is that he likes fireworks, which is maybe no surprise for the fiery Dutch red-head.