AMATEURS | 06/16/2024 | 08:13
by Carlo Malvestio
In February we were impressed to see it Huub Artz finishing in 3rd place on Green Mountain, the Tour of Oman’s Alpe d’Huez, after being on the run and approaching the final climb with just a minute on the peloton. Then we saw him win the Gand-Wevelgem U23, finish 7th in the Paris-Roubaix category and the Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and then 11th in the Tour of Norway with the professionals. Yesterday, finally, he won at Giro Next Gen in the uphill finish of Zocca, once again thanks to a successful escape.
It came naturally to us to ask him what kind of runner he is, given that he seems to be going fast almost everywhere: «It’s not even clear to me yet what kind of runner I am – said Artz -. After Pian della Mussa and Fosse, however, I convinced myself that climbs aren’t really mine, I only like them when I’m at the top, I would define myself more as a classics rider. Then if I’m well I also have fun on the climbs, but today I was with runners who went on the flat, so not really climbers.”
In this Giro Next Gen, in fact, his legs did not respond as they would have liked and the very high level of the competitors made him sweat quite a bit: «When I saw the stages I thought I could do well in several of them, but at the beginning of the Giro the leg wasn’t turning as I hoped – said the runner again Wanty-ReUz-Technord -. Today, however, I wanted to try and I’m happy that this beautiful victory came out in the end. The impression I had was that the level here was even higher than some professional races, but maybe it’s because I wasn’t feeling very well and here the races are totally unpredictable and you practically never slow down, so if you’re not at the top you really risk suffer a lot. However, I am happy to have shown that I can manage both with the U23s and with the professionals.”
Dutch from Eindhoven, born in 2002, 186 cm and 69 kg, he is inspired by Mathieu Van der Poel and dreams, one day, of winning the Tour of Flanders. From next year he will officially be a professional in the Intermarché ranks: «I started cycling very early, at 10 years old, and then I always dreamed of becoming a professional. I don’t know what to expect from that world. Let’s see how next winter goes and if I will prove that I am strong enough to win with the big boys. But from this point of view I don’t think there is too much hurry.”
First, however, there is a Next Gen Giro to conclude: «Today will be another full throttle day because many riders will want to try to win to save their Giro. I could try too, but without pressure because I have already achieved my goal.”
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