Expiring contract, growing confidence: Jelte Krijnsen aims for wins and top 10 in Flanders
His debut season as a pro was not one that Jelte Krijnsen had dreamed of. On the contrary: due to illness and a nasty crash, his only results were fourth place in the opening stage of Boucles de la Mayenne and sixth in the final stage of the Tour of Slovakia. With a contract running out, these are not the best results for the 24-year-old Frisian from Jayco AlUla. But in the Alpecin Barbershop, he tells WielerFlits in conversation that he is brimming with confidence.
After a stellar 2024 season – Krijnsen was the best-performing Continental rider worldwide – he couldn’t build on that in the WorldTour. “Right after the Tour of Valencia last year, I immediately got sick. It was pretty tough, with four days of over 40 degrees Celsius fever. I just lay in bed. It had more of an impact than I thought. In hindsight, I started training too soon and after that, I was a bit behind the curve. My entire spring was basically lost because of that. It wasn’t until around the National Championships that things finally started going well again, and then I went to altitude.”
Whiplash and concussion
That was going smoothly as well, but things went wrong in his first race afterward. “I crashed hard in the Tour de Wallonie,” says Krijnsen. “I dealt with complaints from that for the rest of the season, which prevented me from performing optimally. Mostly head and neck issues. It’s hard to say exactly what it was. Probably a combination of whiplash and a concussion. It really took a long time. I’m almost fully recovered now. Occasionally I still have a stiff neck when I sit on the bike for a long time. But it no longer limits my performance.”
At the end of October, the young rider started training again, and communication with his coach is now much better than a year ago. From the Opening Weekend onward, he will race almost exclusively in Belgium, with Paris-Roubaix as the finale. That follows the same path as last year, but now he hopes to line up much fitter. “I don’t really have revenge feelings,” says Krijnsen. “But I did gain experience last year. I’m not going in completely blind, so I have a sense of what to expect. I just want to try to get the best out of myself again.”
Top-10 in Flanders
Krijnsen gets goosebumps when he thinks back on the Tour of Flanders. He hopes to have a strong spring campaign, with participation in the Vuelta a España in the autumn. He doesn’t worry about his expiring contract. “No, not at all. If I can show in the spring what I know I’m capable of, everything will be fine. I’ve raced a few good races in 2025 where I showed what I have in me. In the races where I had no setbacks, I proved I’m worth racing here. That definitely gives confidence.”
Anyone who thinks he doubts his own abilities is mistaken. “This spring I can compete to win in UCI .Pro and .1 races. Looking at the level in the WorldTour races last year and my own level in 2024, I should be able to finish top-20, and maybe even crack the top-10 with a great performance. That’s what I really hope to achieve this year. It’s true that this is no small feat. But when I see that last year, riding at 90% of my capacity, I just missed the top-60 at the Tour of Flanders... I can definitely go at least 10% better than how I rode there. In my opinion, that should put me around the top 10 to 20.”
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