ProTeam Andreas Kron: “It has truly been an incredible season.”

The 23-year-old Dane looks back on his first year at Lotto Soudal.
General 29 November 2021

For 23-year-old Dane Andreas Kron, his first year with Lotto Soudal was an immediate success. With a stage victory at the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour de Suisse, Andreas’ career in the WorldTour got off to a great start. As most riders are beginning their build-up towards the 2022 season, Andreas took a look back on his first year at Lotto Soudal, one that exceeded his wildest dreams.

“Of course, I am really happy and proud about my 2021 season and how I performed in my first year at WorldTour level. With two stage wins under my belt, one at the Volta a Catalunya and one at the Tour de Suisse, it has truly been an incredible season”, begins Andreas Kron.

However, Andreas’ season didn’t all go according to plan, as the young Dane was forced to abandon the Volta a Catalunya soon after winning a stage due to illness. That way, he saw a participation at the Ardennes Classics – a first big goal of the year – go up in smoke.

“Missing the Ardennes Classics was of course a major disappointment. It really was a pity as this changed the course of my season. I was supposed to have a break after the Classics but instead I trained hard for the Tour de Romandie and I used this stage race to build my shape. Eventually, it led to a Tour de Suisse stage win. It was hard to miss the Ardennes Classics – the races I like most – but also mentally, switching race programs was quite challenging. But on the positive side, it gave me the chance to focus on other races.”

Despite missing out on his first goals of the season, Andreas turned it into something positive and won stage six of the Tour de Suisse, his second stage win at WorldTour level.

Andreas Kron: “Immediately winning at WorldTour level is something I could only dream of. At the start of the season, I hoped to take a win in for example the Tour de Luxembourg, as I did last year. To take two wins on WorldTour level was something I didn’t expect at all as racing at the highest level is quite different to the one I raced on last year with Riwal Cycling Team. There are more race (and travel) days and above all, the speed is so much higher. Sometimes, people think that finishing inside the gruppetto is easy, but I can assure you on some days that’s really not the case! If you have bad legs on the WorldTour, it’s one big sufferfest…”

“Racing for Lotto Soudal is really nice, I love the atmosphere in the team and it’s a nice bunch of riders from whom I can learn a lot. Primarily from guys like Tim Wellens and Philippe Gilbert, who are the same type of riders as I am. When we race, we always do our best to go for the win and that mentality suits me well. We are always thinking about the best opportunity to win.”

“Next year, I hope to be at the start of the Ardennes Classics in top shape. Those races will be my main goal for the first part of the season. The ambition is to do some nice results there and the ultimate dream would be to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the future. But for now I would already be really happy if I could be at the start and gain as much experience as I can”, concludes Andreas.

Images: Photo News.

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