Who Is? 18.11.2017/27/10: Belgian cycling fans can always look forward to young, talented professionals. At 2018, Oliver Naesen is no longer a youngster. However, he only celebrated his breakthrough this season. He drove into the top XNUMX in numerous classics. But the really big success is still a long way off. Is it XNUMX so far?
| Name | Oliver naesen | |
| Birthdays | September 16, 1990 | |
| Place of Birth | Ostend | |
| Nationality | Belgium | |
| Size | 184 cm | |
| Weight | 71 kg | |
| Current team | Ag2r La Mondiale | |
| specialization | Classics | |
| Active as an amateur | 2014 | |
| Active as a professional | 2014 | |
| Greatest successes | Belgian Champion 2017 Winner of the Brittany Classic 2016 Second in the Eneco Tour 2016 Third at E3 Harelbeke 2017 |
From delivery truck driver & student to professional cyclist
Making a name for yourself as a classic car hunter in Belgium is certainly not easy. The footsteps of Eddy Merckx, Tom Boonen, Peter Van Petegem, Johan Museeuw and Co are huge. So far, Oliver Naesen is only known to real experts, because the 27-year-old has not been able to celebrate any great successes so far. The Belgian only started racing at the age of 16. He drove for smaller teams and studied sports science at the University of Ghent at the same time. Failing several exams forced him to work full-time as a delivery truck driver between 2012 and 2014. At the same time, he trained on his bike after work. It was only when he signed a contract with the Professional Continental Team Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise in 2015 that he was able to give up his job. Previously, as a stagiaire, he did not sufficiently convince the UCI WorldTour team Lotto-Belisol.
Helper on the tour & captain on classics
In 2016 Oliver Naesen switched to the Swiss racing team IAM Cycling. He rode the Tour de France for the first time and won the red shirt number of the most combative rider there on the fourth stage. Naesen presented himself as a loyal helper and breakaway with horse lungs, especially on the flat stages. In the one-day race Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France he achieved his first victory in the WorldTour. At the Eneco-Tour only Niki Terpstra finished ahead of him and at the Tour de l'Eurométropole only Dylan Groenewegen was faster in the sprint. After the dissolution of the IAM team, Naesen found a new employer in Ag2r. Planned as captain, he should ensure success in the one-day classics. Although great successes have not yet been achieved, the Belgian presented himself as a potential winner in his first year. In addition to the success in the Belgian championship, he was particularly convincing on cobblestones. With third place at E3 Harelbeke, sixth place at Dwars door Vlaanderen and seventh at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and eighth at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, he finished in the top ten several times. At the Ronde van Vlaanderen he fell at the Kwaremont together with world champion Peter Sagan and Greg Van Avermaet, which prevented an even better result. But it seems only a matter of time before Oliver Naesen also achieves top results in the monuments.
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