Now into his seventh season with Team Picnic PostNL, Niklas spent the period between 2018 and 2020 with the Development program before making the step up to the WorldTour with the Men’s program in 2021.
Niklas has been cycling from a young age and got into the sport through his family, with his grandfather, dad and older brother all active cyclists – so like any young kid, Niklas wanted to follow suit and give it a try. His first ever race was on a walking bike so in his own words he was “pretty young”, before he started taking it more seriously at around the age of six. From there he joined a local club and things snowballed, going to regional races then national and so on, to where he is now in the present day.
A competitive guy by nature, Niklas loves not only competing against other riders in the bunch, but also the process of being in competition with himself and trying to get better. He also likes the combination of structure and freedom that it gives.
“We get our training plans from the team but it’s then up to us to do them, and we can decide when to go out on the bike, so in that way you get freedom. It’s not a nine to five job and I really appreciate that luxury!”