After a solid winter, the 25-year-old Dutchman began his season with a victory at Trofeo Ses Salines in Mallorca and finished on the GC podium at the Tour de la Provence. He has just moved to sunny Monaco on the Riviera and has been working hard on climbs above the Mediterranean to get ready for his next block of racing, which kicks off this weekend at Omloop het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. Marijn’s plan is to then race the Volta Catalunya and Pays de la Loire Tour to get ready for Brabantse Pijl, where he competed for the win last year, and his home country classic – the Amstel Gold Race.

First, Marijn wants to show what he can do on the Flemish cobbles this weekend. Marijn is more than a sprinter. He is very quick and can knock elbows with best in a bunch kick, but also has the power to get over climbs and be at the front of the peloton when it counts in crosswinds. He grew up watching the classics and racing on the roads of the Ronde van Vlaanderen when he was a junior and U23.

“The classics are just proper racing,” Marijn says. “I prefer races that aren’t just a breakaway, a chase, and a sprint. That is what is really nice about the classics. The race is on in the beginning, the middle, and the end, with riders everywhere, small groups going off the front. Those are the groups I want to be in. I want to be more than just a pure sprinter. I am fast, but you have to know your strengths, and the way I raced at Brabantse Pijl last year is the kind of racing that I like most and what I like to watch on television. I haven't done many cobbled classics as a pro, but I always love to watch them, and I think I can do a good job in them. That is what I want to do this weekend.”

If Omloop het Nieuwsblad or Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne come down to a sprint from a reduced group, Marijn thinks he can be there, racing for the win. He learned his trade in the Netherlands and Belgium and hopes the wind is blowing and the race is full-throttle from the moment the commissaire drops the flag.

“You just have to not think too much and be a part of the hectic peloton and find your way in the echelons and fight a bit with your opponents,” he says. “It is super hectic. I don’t think anyone really likes it, until they're in the first group and it all is split apart and the gaps are made. You have to stay calm. Don't think; just go and try to be in the first group. Before that, it is really stressful. Once you are in the first echelon, then you can enjoy it a little bit. I like the fight actually, but maybe that’s because I usually make the first group.”

Marijn’s rookie experience last year at the Tour de France made him a better racer for this year. It’s not just a matter of having the kilometers of the hardest three-week race in the world in his legs. After handling all of the extra pressure and attention that goes with racing the Tour, he can approach the rest of the races on his calendar with a much clearer mind.

“The Tour is the biggest race of the season and the media attention and everything is just a bit extra,” Marijn says. “That helps me to stay calmer at other races, because you know that at the Tour it is even more. If you are not able to stay calm in the smaller races, then you're definitely not going to do that at the Tour. I think being calm helps you when it’s crazy in the peloton and you need to get in a good position to go for the win. It also prevents you from wasting too much energy on things you don't need to worry about. Doing the Tour last year has definitely helped me step up my game.”

Being a part of such a successful Tour team also fuelled Marijn’s ambitions. He would love to go back and do even better.

“The level of everybody there was so high that you had to step up a bit and I think I was able to do that,” Marijn says. “It was super cool to have Richie there in super good shape and that he was able to get the yellow jersey for a day with our help. For me personally, helping him in that sprint stage to get him as far to the front as possible to get that yellow jersey was quite special. His stage win too – you could see that a victory is so much bigger at the Tour than the other races, which makes me want to win a stage in the Tour!”

Right now, Marijn is focused on this first block of racing though. Omloop het Nieuwsblad and Kurrne-Brussel-Kuurne are at the front of his mind.

“This is the first time I'm going to race Omloop, so I don’t really know how the race is going to be, but if I look at the classics I've done, there is always a bit of chaos and positioning is really important,” he says. “With Asgreen, we have a guy that can go with the big attacks at the end. So, we have a few cards to play. For me personally, I want to be in the group that comes back in the end and gets the chance to sprint for victory. That would be perfect. But the plan in your head rarely happens in the classics. You have to be able to adjust. Normally, Kuurne is a reduced bunch sprint too. I’ll go there with the same thoughts as the Omloop and hope I'll be there in the final. That should be a race that suits me well.”

Marijn will approach the rest of the season with the same attitude.

“I just want to have a good season and win some races,” he says. “Winning races is always the goal.”