Former U23 world champion Mike Teunissen will use Sunday’s Ducth cyclo-cross championships as preparation for his road campaign. The young Limburger targets a spot in the top 10 on the sandy course. "But the team would rather see me finish eighteenth than third. If I'm on the podium, it would indicate that I am too good to really be in top form in April,” he tells Wielerflits.

For the 23-year old rider from LottoNL-jumbo, it is only his second professional cyclo-cross race of the season after the Centriumcross in Surhuisterveen where he was a disappointing twelfth. In the national championships, he expects a bit more. "In Surhuisterveen I was the tenth professional at the finish which proves that a good performance in Hellendoorn is realistic. The feeling was quite good but I had just had a pretty tough week of training behind me. So I jad expected to be less good because I missed the freshness. Over the past week I have mostly been resting so further progress compared to the Centrumcross should be possible.”

One thing seems to be certain: we should not expect Teunissen to be in top form and so the expectations have to remain limited. "A top 10 spot is certainly possible but I am certainly not at my best. There’s a world of difference compared to a Mike Teunissen who has done a really good work and has had a full winter of cyclo-cross. But I had previously agreed so with the team. They said, 'it's fine that you want to ride the Nationals, but we will rather see you finish eighteenth than third. That would indicate that you would be too good to be in top form in April.’ That’s true but the road season already starts in a few weeks, so you should already be at a reasonable level here.”

Teunissen has the advantage that he could test the course in late November as so knows what he can expect on Sunday. Nevertheless, it doesn’t suit him one hundred percent. "I had hoped for a slightly easier circuit, with more tactics - a less honest cross, so to speak. Now it will be difficult to even hit the front because I will start from the fourth row. One thing is certain: this course is everyone will eventually put everone into the right place. The severity of this circuit is just more in favor of riders who are very fit and in perfect condition.”