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Bikes of Race Around the Netherlands GX 2023
16 June, 2023
For the first time the Race Around the Netherlands will hit the gravel tracks. A distance of 1,230km of racing with a mere 3,220m of climbing is deceptive; what doesn't go up, can't come down and therefore gets no rest. Riders will consistently be pushing the pedals as there are no easy kilometres in this race.
Weight becomes less of an issue with these statistics, but it does mean aerodynamics are evermore important. Staying true to its nature with flat fast sections, this time riders will just need a little more tyre to tackle this gravel race.
Follow along with commentary veteran, Julia Freeman's, .
Casper van Wijck
Name: Casper van Wijck
Age: 33
Cap number: 48
Location: Renkum, the Netherlands
Bike: Self build bamboo gravel frameset. SRAM XPLR Rival AXS groupset. HUNT 35 Carbon X-wide wheels with Schwalbe g-one RS 40mm tires. Pro stealth saddle, Ergon cf seatpost, Decathlon aerobars and Pro discover 20degree flare handlebar.
Key items of kit: Bags from AGUm, Alpkit bivvy, Aexissmax down bag, Therm-a-Rest uberlite and Decathlon downjacket. Repair kit: mini pump, innertubes, multitool, tyre levers, plugs, powerbank and first aid kit.
Armwarmers, legwarmers, Windjacket and gloves.
Lenzyne lights front and Bontrager flare rear.
Michèle Linz
Name: Michèle Linz
Age: 26
Cap number: 24
Location: Germany
Bike: Niner RLT 9 with 1x12 SRAM Force XPLR. Black Inc Carbon Wheels and 42mm Specialized Pathfinder Pro.
Key items of kit: Topeak Frame Bags.
Markus Linz
Name: Markus Linz
Age: 31
Cap number: 21
Location: Germany
Bike: Niner RLT 9 Steel with SRAM Force AXS XPLR 12-speed, Zipp Aero Bars and DT-Swiss Carbon Wheels with Specialized Pathfinder Pro 47mm.
Key items of kit: Ortlieb bikepacks, Supernova lights and Garmin Edge 1030 Plus.
Richard de Boer
Name: Richard de Boer
Age: 57
Location: Laren, Netherlands
Bike: Sensa Merano. Dutch brand MTB. Everything Shimano XT. Drivetrain however modified to 1x10 sp. Only the chai wheel had to be replaced by Wolftooth dropstop A 34t. Aerobar with BBB lamp and Edge 530 GPS. With remote control. Tires Schwalbe Almotion 29x2 inch tubeless. I need a double saddle cover on a soft saddle.
Key items of kit: Rockbros framebag and tank bag. Revelate Designs saddle bag. Exped compression bag tied under aerobar. 2 Btwin food pouches. Running backpack with food addition. (Framebag filled with food.) Aegismax sleeping bag with neolight mattress. Yet to decide between bivvy or tarp. Glowworm additional lamp. 2 drinking bottles 0,8L in sidepull cages. No bladder.
Gemma Adelaar
Name: Gemma Adelaar
Age: 42
Cap number: 44
Location: The Netherlands
Bike: Ridley Kanzo gravel bike. My bike has Shimano Ultegra and GRX parts with 40 mm Schwalbe G One Bite tubeless set up. It also still has the titanium rack on, but I choose for this event not to use panniers due the sound the bags make on rougher terrain.
Key items of kit: Ortlieb 16 ltr saddle bag, Restrap frame bag and top tube bag and Rapha bar bag.
Richard de Boer
Name: Richard de Boer
Age: 57
Location: Laren, Netherlands
Bike: Sensa Merano MTB. Shimano XT modified to 1x10 drivetrain. Using Wolftooth dropstop A 34T chainwheel. Rest unchanged. Schwalbe 29x2 inch tires tubeless. Aerobar. 2 standart water bottles in sidepull cages. No bladder. Pump and spare inner tube tied on upper frame.
Key items of kit: Tankbag and framebag Rockbross for food. Saddle bag Revelate Designs (L) for sleeping bag + Neolight mattress + bivvy (or tarp). Exped compression bag tied under aerobar for clothes. Small running backpack for addional food. Rainwear in front fork cage. Other fork cage yet to decide. BBB lamp 1500 lm fixed on aero. Glowworm 1200 Lm spare in bag with helmet mount. Garmin Egde 530. Smartphone with SPconnect mount on ahead (Osmand+ for detailed navigation). 20000 mAh battery in bag + charger.
Paul Berkhout
Name: paul berkhout
Age: 56
Cap number: 84
Location: 't Harde NL
Bike: J.Guillem Atalaya, Shimano GRX 810 2x11, Profile Design aerobar. Lights Fenix BC25R (x2), Ortlieb quick rack, tyres Panaracer Gravelking 43mm
Key items of kit: 2 food pouches on the handlebar, Ortlieb panniers 2x 20 l and enough space on top of the rack for extra luggage. This is my setup for the upcoming Three Peaks Bike Race, Ratn GX is some kind of test-ride.
Imran Shaikh
Name: Imran Shaikh
Age: 40
Cap number: 33
Location: Harrogate UK
Bike: Moots routt 45, Dt Swiss etc wheels, Shimano GRX 800 groupset. Have trialed the bike on the king Alfred’s way in the UK it’s ready for the big challenge.
Key items of kit: Apidura racing top tube bag and aerobatic pack, Ortlieb frame bag, Quad Lock phone mount, Profile Design aero bars and 40mm tyres.
Fiona Sharp
Name: Fiona Sharp
Age: 44
Cap number: 07
Location: York, UK.
Bike: Charlie - a Trek Checkpoint SLR7. SRAM Force 1x and Rotor 155mm cranks. Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37V wheels with 40mm Bontrager GR1 tyres.
Key items of kit: Tailfin tailpack, Restrap Aero bar bag, Bontrager frame pack and Apidura top tube bag. Sleep system is a Nordisk Lofoten 1 tent with a Sea to Summit sleeping bag, sleeping mat and pillow - I like my comforts! Exposure Strada and Diablo front lights and Bontrager Flare rear lights. I'll also be using an Apidura hydration vest.
Geert Toenders
Name: Geert Toenders
Age: 54
Cap number: 54
Location: Driebergen, The Netherlands
Bike: Ridley Crossbow
Key items of kit: Duck Tape pannier bags, bivvy bag and sleeping bag, frame bag and front wheel with charging hub.
Stijn Kingma
Name: Stijn Kingma
Age: 42
Cap number: 95
Location: Den Haag, The Netherlands
Bike: Idworx oPinion Ti with Pinion P1.18, 165mm cranks, Profile Designs airstryke aero pads and Continental Race King tyres.
Key items of kit: Front: Revelate Designs harness, dry bag (tent) and egress pocket (electronics and personal care items) attached to a handlebar mount and a Restrap bumper bar. Middle: Apidura frame pack (food, rain jacket, pump, small bike lock and a few small repair items), downtube pack (repair kit I hope not to use) and two food pouches (water bottle and food). Back: dry bag strapped with Voile straps (sleeping mattress, quilt and a few clothes).
Remco 'Ollie Rolly' Baas
Name: Remco 'Ollie Rolly' Baas
Age: 45
Cap number: 8
Location: Aalsmeer The Netherlands
Bike: Scott Speedster 30
Key items of kit: To Tent or to bivy that's the question! Aerobars and small front pouches. Think I have assembled a package of total joy!
Timo Klok
Name: Timo Klok
Age: 39
Cap number: 41
Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands
Bike: Genesis Croix de Fer 20 (steel) with Shimano Tiagra, DT Swiss R500db wheels + Schwalbe G1 Bite 40mm tyres and BBB Aerobars.
Key items of kit: Ortlieb Seat Pack for clothing, Ortlieb Frame-pack top tube for spare parts, tools and hygiene stuff. Restrap Bar Pack for food mostly and Restrap Top Tube Bag for quick access to food and electronics.
Werner Velis
Name: Werner Velis
Age: 54
Cap number: 20
Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands
Bike: Scott Speedster gravel
Key items of kit: Different bike, but with the same frame bag, saddle bag and mini back pack as last year for RATN 2022. My slogan for 2023 is; "alles wat je niet meeneemt is mooi meegenomen".
Toni Säilä
Name: Toni Säilä
Age: 49
Location: Berlin, Germany
Bike: Bombtrack Hook2, SRAM Force 1 x 11, DT Swiss Wheels, SON Dynamo and Supernova Lights.
Key items of kit: Apidura Handlebar Bag, Cyclite Frameback, Pannier Rack and Vaude Bags. Mammoth Biwak, Sea To Summit Sleeping Mat and Cumulus Sleeping Bag.
Konstantinos Pachnis
Name: Konstantinos Pachnis
Age: 43
Cap number: 63
Location: Athens, GR
Bike: I will be riding a Bombtrack Hook EXT 2021/22. The bike is setup with SRAM Rival drivetrain and breaks, and a Bombtrack crank. Thomson cockpit, DT Swiss custom wheels, Panaracer Gravelking SK+ tires and an ERGON SR Allroad Core Pro saddle.
Key items of kit: The Apidura Expedition Series packs and Gloworm XS Lightset (G2.0).
Joeri Van Ginneken
Name: Joeri Van Ginneken
Age: 32
Cap number: 60
Location: Zoersel,Belgium
Bike: Scott Scale 930, Giant XCR2 wheels with Vittoria Terrano Dry 2.1 tires tubeless setup.
Key items of kit: Hide My Bell, Pro Saddle Bag, Toppeak Top Bag, Sigma Buster 2000 Headlight and Garmin Edge 1030.
Niels Ihrman
Name: Niels Ihrman
Age: 38
Cap number: 80
Location: Knegsel, the Netherlands
Bike: Bombtrack Hook EXT GRX800 48-31 in the front. Shimano SLX 11-40t in the rear. Wheels are 700C with 38 mm Teravail Washburns . Cane Creek eeSilk+ seat post to filter out the bigger bumps.
Key items of kit: Bags: Apidura Expedition full frame bag + 1.5L Hydration bladder, Tailfin Aeropack handlebar pack are also Apidura Expedition. Sleeping kit: Exped Synmat HL LW, Cumulus quilt 250 and an Outdoor Research Helium Bivy. kLite Ultra V2 Gravel headlight.
Eelco Meuter
Name: Eelco Meuter
Age: 46
Bike: Bike: Canyon Inflite AL 9s, DT Swiss CRC 1400 wheels, Gravelking TLC SK 700/32 tyres, Shimano Ultegra groupset with a 52/36 Rotor chainset and an 11-28 11-speed cassette. 160 mm disk brakes and Favero Assioma Uno power meter pedals.
Accessories: Tubus disco rear carrier, Knog PWR trail front light, B&M 2C rear light, Crankbrothers Klic HV pump, Ortlieb micro saddle bag, AXA Defender lock, Garmin Edge 530 and 2x 0.75L Canyon bottles.
Key items of kit: Bags: my trusty 25 yr old Ortlieb classic front panniers, Brooks scape top tube bag and Brooks scape handle bar pouch.
Sleeping system: MSR Hubba Hubba 2, Lowland ultralight down sleeping bag, silk liner and Therm-a-Rest Venture Air.
Cooking: Opinel + bamboo spork, MSR PocketRocket Deluxe, PRIMUS Litech Trek Kettle, isolating mug, GSI Outdoors Ultralight Java Drip filter (THE most important item) and Coffee!
Bad weather: Arc'teryx isolated jacket, Henri Lloyd GoreTex jacket and Vaude rain trousers.
Jamie Clowes
Name: Jamie Clowes
Age: 30
Cap number: 69, dudes!!!
Location: Lake District, Cumbria, England
Bike: A custom Ti Terra Nova from the amazing Adam at Terra Cycling in Surrey. Built to pay homage to a second hand bike my dad built up for me when I was a kid. GRX groupset. Deda bars and a Ti stem. Hunt 4 Season X-Wide wheels, tubeless 40mm WTB Byway tyres. Pro Stealth Performance saddle. Ti seatpost. Wolftooth finishing kit. Supacaz bar tape.
Key items of kit: I'm doing the race as part of a bigger 3 week trip raising money for charity, so I have quite a lot of kit. Bags are a mix of Alpkit, Ashdown Bags, Tailfin and Restrap, with a custom frame bag (not pictured) from my friend Josh at Ashdown Bags, a Tumbleweed Mini Pannier rack and Tight Bicycle Co bar bag supports. A Rab Ridge Raider bivvy, Alpkit bag and SeaToSummit mat. Lights are from mtb batteries. Anker 20K powerbank. Garmin eTrex 10 for the battery life. 2.5L of water.
Patrick Bruns
Name: Patrick Bruns
Age: 52
Cap number: 94
Location: Almelo, the Netherlands
Bike: Pilot Scram Pinion
Key items of kit: Front; Ortlieb Fork-pack 5.9, handlebar-pacl 9l, Fuel-pack 1l Frame: Porcelain Rocket 52hz full frame bag. Back: Vaude Trailsaddle 12l. Rack: homemade + Blackburn outpost/ Klean kanteen 2l bottles
Sleep system: tent; Hilleberg Rajd, Sea to Summit ultralight mat, Exped pillow and Fjallraven summer sleeping bag.
Lucky item: My bike
Nanke Stein
Name: Nanke Stein
Age: 46
Location: Kranenburg, Germany
Bike: Bike: Trek checkpoint SL 6, Vision TLR 40 carbon rims, Schwalbe G-One Allround 40mm (not in picture), Shimano Ultegra groupset, Ultegra chainset 50/34 and Ultegra 11-32 cassette 11 speed and Profile design Sonic Ergo 45AR Aero bars.
Key items of kit: Ortlieb saddle bag 16.5l (sleep system), Apidura Long Top tube race bag (snacks + power bank), Apidura frame race bag with 1.5l water bladder (clutter), Revelate Designs Harness with dry bag (clothing), Wahoo Bolt, Lezyne 1000xl light set and tool bottle.
Chris Pountney
Name: Chris Pountney
Age: 38
Cap number: 49
Location: Live in Fredericia, Denmark. From the UK.
Bike: Canyon Endurace AL6. Shimano Tiagra, Schwalbe G-one Allround tyres (40mm).
Key items of kit: Topeak saddle and frame bags, with a generic bum bag strapped to the handlebars - easy to access and seems to work well, let’s see! Sol Escape bivy, lightweight sleeping bag and mattress for the nights. Plus a ton of power banks as I plan to use phone for navigation.
Charles Delorme
Name: Charles Delorme
Age: 50
Cap number: 30
Location: Antony, France
Bike: Kona Rove 2021, Shimano Sora 9 speed 50/34t x 11-34. Rims WTB STi23 Tires Hutchinson Touareg 650x47 tubeless. Dynamo hub Shimano DH-UR795-3D and since it is my every day bike, it also has a Topeak luggage rack :-)
Key items of kit: Saddle bag Zefal Z Adventure R17, top tube, half frame, food pouch, fork bag, bottles and phone support Decathlon. Tool box Zefal Z-Box, Light Front Busch Müller Luxos and Backup light Decathlon ST920.
Hendrik Venema
Name: Hendrik Venema
Age: 40
Cap number: Unknown
Location: Nijmegen, Netherlands
Bike: Trek Checkpoint SL6, SRAM Force AXS shifters and XPLR 10-44t cassette (new cassette and it's way), 44t Wolftooth chainring, Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V wheels, Schwalbe G-One RS 40mm tires.
Key items of kit: The bags are a mix of Bontrager (frame), Restrap (toptube) and Apidura (saddlebag), and a Apidura musette for grocery raids. Glowworm headlight, Bontrager taillight. Sleep system consists of a comfy Sea to Summit sleeping mat, Sea to Summit Reactor liner, Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer downjacket and depending on night temperatures a Lowland sleepingbag. Bags will keep all the repair stuff, tools and two Tubolito innertubes, powerbank and a stack of Maurten drinkmix. Last but not least a drawing of my children will surely fit in.
Kees Overboom
Name: Kees Overboom
Age: 56
Location: Woerden, The Netherlands
Bike: My bike is a Salsa Cutthroat. It's equipped with a Shimano GRX-600 groupset with a 11:34 cassette. I useTufo Gravel Thundero 44mm tires, perfect for the mixed surface terrain ahead. The Fratelli rims with a Son hub dynamo and Son Edelux II front light and Ravemen and Sigma back lights must ensure I have reliable lighting throughout the race. I use Revelate and RockBross bags, which I can extend if needed. My Gilles Berthoud saddle on a Redshift seat post and Profile Design aero bars promise me comfort during the long hours ahead. Two Garmin Edge 830s complete my setup, ensuring me I have all the route information I need.
Key items of kit: Tufo Gravel Thundero 44mm tires. They have low rolling resistance but hopefully provide me with the grip I need on the non-tarmac surfaces.
Ed Schinkel
Name: Ed Schinkel
Age: 57
Cap number: 31
Location: Purmerend Netherlands
Bike: Bombtrack Hook ext. Steel frame, taken me to a lot of places. The drivetrain is a mix of Shimano Ultegra, GRX and XT. Hope brakes. Hope rear hub. SON dh for light and power. DT 28” rims, Sapim spokes, homebuild of course 😊. Specialized Pathfinders pro tires.
Key items of kit: SON head and rear light. Exposure Light USB lights as backup set. Ritchey Venture Max handle bar with a profile design tt bar for my convenience. Testing the new WTB Gravelier saddle, thus far very good. My bags are a mix of Porcelain Rocket, Restrap and Ortlieb for this race. King Cage cages. Sea to Summit mat and pillow, cumulus sleeping bag. OD research waterproof bivy, or a MLD waterresitant bivy. Maybe with a 200grm tarp. Depending on the weather forecast. UL cooking gear for thee and morning coffee and dinner.
Max
Name: Max
Age: 37
Cap number: 74
Location: Arnhem, Netherlands
Bike: The classic Surly Straggler 700c, 1x11 SRAM Rival 42t in the front and 11t-46t SunRace cassette in the back, combined with mechanical Avid bb7 disc brakes. Carbon Hunt 4 season gravel x-wide wheels with a SON28 dynamo and Edelux II light upfront and a rearlight, including B&M charging device. Tire choice for this race are Terravail 42mm Cannonball upfront and a more slick 42mm Washburn for the rear wheel. Salsa Cowchipper wide bars and Brooks cambium saddle.
Key items of kit: My good old Ortlieb saddle, frame and possible handlebar bag. Not sure about the last one. I made a adjustment to the framebag so I can carry an extra 1.8L Apidura bladder and hose. I bought a Topstone Wishbone to be able to mount 2 bottlecages on the back (not in picture).
Benjamin Wessel
Name: Benjamin Wessel
Age: 37
Cap number: 29
Location: Bielefeld, Germany
Bike: Cannondale Topstone Carbon, Shimano GRX 46/30, DTSwiss RR481 with DT240 wheelset, tubeless Conti Terra Speed in front and Vittoria Terreno Zero in back, Rose aero bars
Key items of kit: Specialized Burra Burra seat pack, Apidura frame and top tube bag, handlebar sea to summit dry bag, 2x decathlon food pouch
