Koen de Kort Official Website

Welcome to the Koen de Kort official website

Koen de Kort is a Dutch cyclist and is riding for the Pro-continental Argos-Shimano cycling team since January 2009.

On this website you will find regular news on Koen's races. If he manages to find the time, Koen tries to write a report after every race so you can gain an insight into the peloton and Koens experiences within it.

Read the latest news about Koen on Twitter

Teammate Mezgec again 3rd, Koen 51st
The 17th stage took the peloton over 203km from Caravaggio to Brescia and it was the stage that the riders of Argos-Shimano had set their sights on. For Koen it was a stage to attack and if that did not work, to work for sprinter Mezgec during the final climb to set him up for a chance of the stage win. When no Argos-Shimano rider managed to join the breakaway of the day, the team set about pursuing the break with Mark Cavendish's Quickstep team. The breakaway was caught but Italian Giovanni Visconti broke away on the final climb. Despite the chasers working, Visconti stayed away. He won the stage with an advantage of 19 seconds over a group of 39 riders with Mezgec, who survived the climb and sprinted to third place. Koen crossed the line in a group with Cavendish amongst others, in 51st place at 1'37".

Thursday's stage is a mountain time trial from Mori to Polsa over 20.6 kilometers.

Koen starts the final week with 44th place
Tuesday's stage on May 21st started in Valloire and ended in Ivrea 238 kilometers later. The stage contained a early first category climb occurring after 55 kilometers followed much later by a third category climb where the summit was 25 kilometers from the finish. Koen tried to stay with the peloton for as long as possible with an eye on a satisfactory placing. Unfortunately the pace was to hot or the climb too long to stay with the leaders. Koen crossed the line in 44th place at 3'31" of Spaniard Benati Intxausti who won the stage. 

Photo: Koen before the start of the 16th stage (with thanks to Kaitlin Bell)

Second week in the Giro finished
With a place in the big bus of 76 riders in the stage from Cesana Torinese to the Col du Galibier, Koen has finished the second week of the Giro. Much of the riders in the bus treated the stage as a prelude to the rest day on Monday and climbed the Galibier at a relatively gentle place. For the statistics: Koen crossed the line in 114th place at 27'54" after the stage winner.

Got through mountain stage despite tough conditions
The 14th stage from Cervere to Bardonecchia over 181 km saw the riders take on cold, wet and misty conditions. But due to his years of experience, Koen was perfectly dressed and he was able to stay with the slowing shrinking peloton for much time. Ultimately Koen crossed the line in 72nd place which was ten minutes behind stage winner Italian Mauro Santambrogio for Vini Fantini who climbed the final climb together with classification leader Vincenzo Nibali. The big bus crossed the line after 20 minutes.

Sunday's stage is planned to be shortened due to snow. The stage goes from Cesana Torinese to the Col du Galibier and the riders will likely finish on the Galibier.

Koen delivers Mezgec well in the finale ahead ending up in a  fine third place
Despite there being a climb at the end of the longest, 254 kilometer, stage of the Giro d'Italia from Busseto to Cherasco, the stage still ended in a mass sprint as after the climb there was a descent of seven kilometers. Several breakaway riders were caught under impuse of the riders of the sprinters team. Koen delivered his teammate Luka Mezgec to the wheel of the Mark Cavendish just inside the final kilometer. In the sprint Mezgec followed Cavendish and obtained a third place, just as he did a day earlier. Koen crossed the line in 73rd.

Good day for Argos-Shimano
The relatively short stage on Thursday May 16th from Longarone to Treviso turned out to be a good day for Argos-Shimano despite the rain. Belgian Bert De Backer was part of the breakaway of five which was unfortunately caught in sight of the finish with just 500 meteres to go. In the final sprint Luka Mezgec took a fine third place. Koen was part of the first group of 90 riders and crossed the line in 58th place.

Tried to join the break of the day
Wedesday's stage contained the final mountain stage for the time being. Koen tried at the start of the stage to break away from the peloton in order to reach the final climb to the finish with some advantage. Unfortunately he did not succeed but his teammate Patrick Gretsch did manage to join 19 others. Gretsch even went on the attack after the summit of the first climb. Gretsch was unfortunately caught on the final climb and ended the stage in 17th place. Koen crossed the line in 90th place at 10'32".

No rain
After the rest day, tuesday's stage from Cordenons to Altopiano del Montasio over 167km awaited the peloton. The stage contained two first category climbs with the finish at the top of the second climb of the day, the Altopiano del Montasio. Koen got through the day well and crossed the line in a big group in 73rd place at 20'53" behind Columbian stage winner Rigoberto Uran from Sky Pro Cycling. The next bus crossed the line 28 minutes down on Uran. Koen was particularly happy with the fact that the whole stage stayed dry.

Got through mountain stage
On Sunday May 12th a mountain stage from Sansepolcro to Firenze over 181 kilometers awaited Koen and the peloton. Koen got through this stage, which was marked by much rainfall, in the gruppetto crossing the line in 113th place at 17'23" from the stage winner. Koen's teammate Tobias Ludvigsson maintained his good form and took a great fourth place. .

Painful, long and boring
With the words painful, long and boring Koen described his time trial on Saturday May 11th in the Giro. The 54.8 kilometer test against the clock was won by British time trial champion Alex Dowsett.

Through stage 7 unscathed
Koen has got through the 177 kilometer stage from Marina di San Salvo to Pescara well. He had a great day in that he did not hit the deck once which was a win itself seen the slippery course in the finale. In addition to that, his legs felt better and that gives much courage for the coming days. Koen stayed for a long time with the main peloton and ultimately ended the day in 81st place at 6'01" from Australian Adam Hansen who survived from the early break to take the stage. Hansen had an advantage of a minute crossing the line of the first group of about thirty riders with the main favourites for the overall.

Failed sprint train in stage 6
"Can't say I'm too happy with how that worked out for us in the sprint today. At least there is a lot of room for improvement." These were the cynical words of Koen after the sixth stage from Mola di Bari to Magherita di Savoia over 169 kilometers which had been tipped as a stage for sprinters beforehand. The work of the Argos-Shimano riders during the stage was not rewarded due to a poorly executed finish. Degenkolb sprinted to 18th place while Manxman Mark Cavendish took his second stage win. Koen crossed the line shortly after Degenkolb in 25th place.

John Degenkolb wins fifth stage
Argos-Shimano have tasted their first success in the Giro. John Degenkolb won Wednesday's stage on May 8th from Cosenza to Montera over a distance of 203 kilometers. The finale contained two short climbs. Argos-Shimano worked on the front for the whole day ensuring that the breakaways would be caught in time. With a tough climb at about 20 kilometers remaining, the team needed to keep Degenkolb at the front making sure he would go to the finish in the leading group, and that worked well. Koen, along with among others including top sprinter Mark Cavendish, was dropped on the climb. Koen had already made an important contribution to the team by improvising with who Degenkolb would go to the finish with. Teammate Luka Mezgec was to be the lead out man. Just before the final corner with still a kilometer to go, Degenkolb lost contact with the back wheel of Mezgec. In hindsight this proved to be a good omen as on the slippery surface, Mezgec slipped out from second position behind Italian Marco Canola and came down, with Degenkolb narrowing evading the crash with an artful display of steering and some suffering to boot. Degenkolb looked around and realised that he was alone behind Canola. It was a question of giving it everything to catch Canola. Degenkolb gave it his all and succeeded in catching the Italian with 150 meters to go to the line, overtaking him and thereby taking his first win of the season, and some one at that. Koen crossed the line in 133rd place at 6'37".

Watch here the final kilometer:

Fourth stage delivers hard finale for classification contenders
The stage from Policastro Bussentino to Serro San Bruno over 246 kilometer finished just after the top of a second category climb. As the classification riders were on their heels, it was destined to be a tough finale and a stage that sprinters would likely not contest. Koen, who went through almost half of the stage on a flat tyre, stayed with the first group for much time before letting the group go in the finale. He crossed in a small group in 101st place at 10'25".

Wednesday's stage has an interesting looking stage on the programme taking the peloton 203 kilometers from Cosenza to Montera with the finale containing two short climbs. Once again a stage unlikely to end in a mass sprint but not a stage either that classification riders will be able to rid themselves of the majority of the peloton.

Third stage tougher than expected
The third stage of the Giro on Monday May 6th did not go as expected. Whilst the start of the stage was easier, the end turned out to be tougher than expected. The two climbs in the final hour were used by the classification contenders to create gaps in the general classification. The final climb was, according to Koen, "too long, too hard, too fast or all of the above." Either way it was not a stage for sprinters. Koen crossed the line in the peloton in 104th place, 8'07" down on Italian Luca Paolini who took the stage 16 seconds ahead of sixteen which contained many GC contenders.

Tuesday's stage brings the peloton over 246 kilometers from Policastro Bussentino to Serro San Bruno with a tough final which finishes shortly after the top of a second category climb. 

Last in team time trial without stress
The Argos-Shimano team took 23rd place, or last, in the team time trial on Sunday May 5th over 17.4 kilometers. Sky Pro Cycling took the victory. As Argos-Shimano have no rider ear marked for a classification assault, there was little incentive for more for the team. Koen finished the time trial with a flattening tyre.

First stage not according to plan
The plan for the first stage of the Giro d'Italia was set but in the finale, in the streets of Naples, things did not go as planned. The riders lost contact with one another and consequently ended up being to far behind to place John Degenkolb for the sprint. The riders from teams like Cannondale and GreenEdge kept the pace high at the front. When a crash occurred at about tenth place in the peloton, it was clear that the stage winner would come from the first ten. Manxman Mark Cavendish won the stage, sprinting out from behind to better Italian Elia Viviani. Degenkolb sprinted 18 seconds later to first of the chasers to 11th place. Koen crossed the line in 68th place.

Programme:

• Sa. May 4tn until Su. May 26th Giro d'Italia

Kittel takes the final stage too
Marcel Kittel has been able to finish off the Tour of Turkey by taking out the final 121 kilometer stage in Istanbul. The Argos-Shimano team delivered Kittel perfectly to the front who kept cool when he was closed in momentarily in the sprint, finding his way out to sprint to the win ahead of Italian Guardini and Briton Fenn. Koen crossed the line in 56th. The final general classification was won by Turk Mustafa Sayar. Koen finished 45th overall.

Watch underneath the final three kilometers of the concluding stage.

Kittel wins his second stage after great work from Koen
On Saturday April 27th Marcel Kittel won the penultimate stage of the Tour of Turkey. After a leading group of six were caught after work by Argos-Shimano and other teams, a chaotic finale to the 124 kilometer stage from Kusadasi to Izmir ensued. Koen lost contact with Kittel with three kilometers to go but he managed to find his German teammate in time and together they got through the final corner unharmed when several riders hit the ground. Koen was able to deliver Kittel to fifth place which ended up being a great positive for the German to launch his winning sprint over Italian Andrea Guardini and Argentine Maximiliano Richeze Ariel. Koen crossed the line in 30th.

Watch underneath how Koen and Kittel safely get through the final corner and Kittel after the win thanks Koen for his work.

Nothing special in stage with uphill finish
The stage from Bodrum to Selçuk over 183 kilometer on Friday ended up with an uphill finish. Turk Mustafa Sayarn dropped all his rivals on the climb and rode alone to the stage win and the leader's jersey. Koen finished 4'18" after Sayarn in 59th place.

Another podium finish for Koen's teammate Arndt after lead out from Koen
The fifth stage took the peloton over 183 kilometers from Marmaris to Turgutreis over 183 kilometer and quickly contained a leading group of about 65 riders with Argos-Shimano represented by five, including Koen. Despite several climbs the leading group stayed almost intact and Albert Timmer and Koen were able to work for a sprint from teammate Niki Arndt given his good form and his second place of a day earlier. After Timmer lead the head of the bunch in the finale, Koen took up the sprint which caught an attack from Italian Filippe Pozzato. Unfortunately German sprinter Andre Greipel was in the group and he sprinted to his second stage win while Arndt finished behind Italian Matteo Trentin in third place. Koen crossed the line in 51st.

Teammate Arndt sprints to second place
A climb in the finale of the 147 kilometer stage from Gocek to Marmaris ensured that the peloton broke in two. Unfortunately Koen was not in the first group. The first group contained forty riders with Koen's teammate compatriot Albert Timmer, Frenchman Warren Baguil and the German Nikias Arndt. With two kilometers to go, Albert Timmer was at the head of the peloton keeping the pace high until the final corner. From here on the sprint in the final 400 metres took place and Arndt sprinted to a fine second place behind his speedy compatriot Andre Greipel. Koen crossed the line in 48th place in the second group less than 30 seconds later.

"Survived pretty easy in a nice group"
That was how Koen summed up the third (mountain) stage in the Tour of Turkey. The stage took the peloton 153.5 kilometers from Antalya to Elmali. Koen crossed the line with teammates Marcel Kittel and Albert Timmers in 86th place at 12'56" behind Erithean Natnael Berhane from Europcar who took the stage win and the lead in the general classification.

Crash thwarts finale of second stage in Turkey
During the second stage of the Tour of Turkey, a massive crash occurred in the finale with Australian Mark Renshaw hitting the ground and Koen's teammate Bert de Backer taken down along with several other riders. As Koen was out of touch with the sprint train, he was further back in the field and was therefore about to stop in time before the massive group that came down. Marcel Kittel was taken down too. As nearly everyone was effected, Koen crossed the line in 141th place but was classified as the same time as the stage winner Lithuanian Aidis Kruopis. Kittel is now second in the general classification in the same time as German compatriot Andre Griepel who managed to avoid the crash and took third place.

Photo: Koen pushed teammate Marcel Kittel over the line after his fall in the finale of the second stage (with thanks to Cor Vos)

Marcel Kittel wins first stage in Turkey
The Argos team has started off the Tour of Turkey very well. Marcel Kittel won Sunday's stage after great team work. Koen lead out for Kittel and crossed the line in 65th place.

Watch the final kilometers of the stage and see how Argos-Shimano keep Marcel Kittel at the front of the bunch until the moment when he can come out of Koen's wheel to launch his sprint.

Amstel Gold Race + Brabants Wielercafé
Koen took part in the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday April 14th but unfortunately Koen was not able to bring about a better end to this year's string of spring classics. While the race actually went better than earlier classics, Koen had the misfortune of being delayed by  several crashes and ultimately was unable to finish the race.

On Wednesday April 17th, Koen was a guest in the Brabant Cycling cafe in Oss where he told his story to a sold out hall of enthusiastic cycling fans.

Photo: Koen during the Amstel Gold Race (with thanks to Cor Vos)

Three mechanicals is too much for Koen
The 2013 edition of Paris-Roubaix will be one that Koen will hope to quickly forget. Even before the second section of cobbles, Koen's saddle had broken but he was able to continue riding until his chain got completely stuck and he had to change bike. A 30 kilometer long chase ensued to return to the peloton where a hard tempo was being set. Just ahead of the notorious forest at Wallers, he joined a group behind the peloton but then the chain of his spare bike got stuck. Frustrated, Koen had to quit the race.

Reconnaissance in France
From Thursday onwards Koen has been in France to prepare for Paris-Roubaix. On Thursday, Koen cycled 90 kilometres of the race route while on Friday, he will also clock up the necessary kilometers of the route in the north of France.  During the reconnaissance, Koen explains the best way to ride over the cobbles. Watch the film here underneath.

95th in Vlaanderen, Degenkolb 9th
On Sunday March 31st, Koen obtained 95th place in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Under normal circumstances, Koen would not at all be happy with such a result but given the set backs over the past months, he is quite satisfied. Koen's form is on an increasing line and he has finished his first race since breaking his collarbone. Teammate John Degenkolb stayed at the front for the whole race and ultimately took 9th place and netting important World Tour points for Argos-Shimano. Koen was annoyed that during one of the ascents of the Oude Kwaremont he was unable to cycle when several riders ahead of him were unable to stay upright.

No repeat in Dwars door Vlaanderen
Koen dropped out of the classic Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday March 20th after 100 kilometers, after the second visit through Waregem. While last year he obtained a magnificent third place, this year he felt unwell and had to abandon. Koen experienced too much strain from "dead fingers" obtained when taking part in Milan - San Remo on treacherous wintry conditions on Sunday. "I suppose that stopping the circulation on Sunday gave them a considerable blow. Ah sure that's just part of racing eh," Koen said after.

Heavy snow troubles Milan-San Remo
Milan-San Remo, the first major classic of the season, endured a difficult edition on March 17th 2013. Due to heavy snow on the Passo del Turchino, the race was stopped and riders were transfered in a bus. Between kilometre 117 and 163, the race was neutralized. In addition to the Turchino, the Mania climb was removed. Instead of a distance of 298 kilometres, the race was reduced to 240 kilometres. The early breakaway group of six (Matteo Montaguti, Diego Rosa, Filippo Fortin, Maxim Belkov, Lars Bak and Pablo Lastras) were the first to board the bus. When the race was restarted over an hour later, the seven minute lead of the breakaway was re-enacted. On the bus, a number of riders tweeted pictures of the miserable wintery conditions to the world. Koen was numbed with the cold when he boarded the bus. After resumption of the race, Koen worked for team leader John Degenkolb for much time. Koen was part of the race until the foot of the Cipressa, the penultimate climb of the race, after which his work for Degenkolb was finished. The breakaway of six was caught and on the Cipressa various riders went on the attack, including Degenkolb. Two riders stayed away from this leading group who were only caught in the descent of the final climb, the Poggio, by a chasing group of four containing favourites Solvak Peter Sagan and Swiss Fabian Cancellara. However, it was German sprinter Gerald Ciolek who surprised Sagan to take the win, netting the biggest victory of his career.  On Twitter Koen reflected that he hoped he'd never have to experience such conditions again but that his form was improving.

Pulled out in torturous mountain stage
Koen did not finish the penultimate stage starting and finishing in Porte Sant'Elpidio after a loop of 209 kilometres on Monday March 11th. The stage contained three ascensions of the tough climb of the Muro di Sant'Elpidio with a gradient of up to 27%. The first ascension was 70 kilometres into the stage. Koen climbed this wall once but before he ascended a second time, he held off so as preserve energy and to focus rather on Milan-San Remo next Sunday. The stage, described by Swiss Time Trial powerhouse Fabian Cancellara as being sadomasochist, was won by Slovak Peter Sagan who won the sprint against Italian Vincenzo Nibali and Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez.   

Withstood the second mountain stage
Just as he did a day earlier with the first mountain stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, Koen has withstood the second mountain stage from Ortona to Chieti over 230 kilometres. Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez won the stage ahead of Dutchman Bauke Mollema. While Rodriguez showed himself to be the best climber, Mollema was the fastest of the five chasers with classification leader Christopher Froome and Spaniard Alberto Contador. Koen, who found the stage tough at the start improved as the stage went on, and crossed the line in a big grupetto or bus of 70 riders in 115th place, 22'18" down on Rodriguez.

Finished the stage according to plan
The first mountain stage of Tirreno-Adriatico was ahead of the riders on Saturday March 9th. Given Koen's recovery, the plan for the stage was simply to get through without any difficulties. The stage went from Narni to Prati di Tivo over 173 kilometres. It was Brit Christopher Froome who won the stage solo. Koen crossed the line in a group at 19'51" in 153rd place. Koen's teammate John Degenkolb unfortunately had to pull out of the stage with an injury.

In a group to the finish
Koen finised the third stage in a nice group behind the peloton. Koen and the other riders of the group rode to the finish without too much pressure on the climb of the finishing lap in the finale and in the descent in the rain. "It was tough enough," Koen said afterwards. "I was in a nice group and I finished the stage again. The weather wasn't our friend today, it rained the whole day." The stage went from Indicatore to Narni Scalo over 190 kilometres and finished in a mass sprint that was won by Slovak Peter Sagan ahead of Manxman Mark Cavendish.

Finished in the peloton
The second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Thursday March 7th finished in a mass sprint. It was Australian Matthew Goss that took the stage from San Vincenzo to Indicatore over 232 kilometres in the pouring rain. Koen succeeded in finishing the stage in the peloton. He crossed the line in 165th place and so clocked up the 230 kilometers race kilometres.

14th in team time trial
The Argos-Shimano formation started Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday March 6th with a 14th place in the team time trail. In the pouring rain, the team covered the 16.9 kilometer distance from San Vincenzo to Donoratico in a time of 20'15". That was 51 seconds slower than the winning time of Omega Pharma-Quickstep of Mark Cavendish who crossed the line first and took the first leader's jersey. In his first day racing after his collarbone break, Koen was not able to stay with his teammates and had to drop off the pace early. In the company of Albert Timmer, Koen crossed the line about two minutes after his teammates which was well in time to be able to start tomorrow's stage and get back the race rhythm.


At the start of Tirreno-Adriatico
On Wednesday, Koen will start his first race since breaking his collarbone in Qatar at the start of February with the Italian stage race Tirreno-Adriatico. The race will last until Tuesday March 12th.

Training outside already
Despite saying in an interview with Cyclingonline (click here to read, in Dutch) that he planed on training outside for the first time this coming weekend, Koen did manage to get out before that on Wednesday afternoon. He is progressing well in his recovery with an eye on Tirreno-Adriatico.

Koen recovering after crash in Tour of Qatar
Team Argos-Shimano rider Koen de Kort (Ned), who broke his collarbone during the fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar, underwent a successful operation at the Máxima Medical Centre in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, on Friday and is now recovering.
"The surgery went well. I flew home Thursday night from Qatar and had the operation Friday morning," said the 30-year-old de Kort today. "I had to stay a night in the hospital and went home on Saturday to start the recovery process. I had quite a lot of pain the day after the operation, but since Sunday I've been doing well. I've started doing some indoor training already, so that is a good sign."
His focus is now on getting healthy for the Flemish classics. The Dutchman will take it day by day and will not race until he is fully recovered. "I know it will be tight to be ready on time," he said, "but we will see how it develops. In the ideal scenario, I will be able to do a stage race before the classics."
Koen de Kort was really pleased to see his teammate Marcel Kittel winning in the Tour of Oman: "I knew it would come together one of these days. In the Tour Down Under and the Tour of Qatar we saw already that things were getting better, and we knew that when everything fell into place we would be able to take the win."

Operated on in Veldhoven
After Koen arrived back to Netherlands on Thursday night from Qatar, he was operated on his collarbone on Friday morning in the hospital in Veldhoven. The operation went well according to the doctors. After the x-ray (see underneath, AvH) Koen was able to leave the hospital on Saturday morning and can now begin with his recovery.

Crashed again, broken collarbone
In the final kilometre of the fourth stage from Camel Race Track to Al Khor Corniche over 160km, Koen fell again for the second day in a row. Yesterday's crash doesn't seem as bad now as while the damage yesterday was several grazes and bruises, today's crash result in a collarbone fracture. If Koen is able to, he will fly back to the Netherlands tomorrow and he will have an operation on his collarbone on Friday in Veldhoven. The fracture is a clear break. Koen did manage to cross the line in last place (139th) and was classified as the same time at stage winner, Manxman Mark Cavendish.

"Had Xrays and CT scan done in a great sports hospital in Doha. Will have operation done in The Netherlands, update soon. I guess I'm a real cyclist now."

"I knew the final kilometers of today's stage were pretty tricky. We were in the front to prepare the sprint for John Degenkolb. A few riders, including me, went down 900 meters from the finish, and I immediately felt that there was something wrong with my right shoulder," said Koen. "Unfortunately, this is part of cycling. I will now fully focus on my recovery in order to get back in the saddle as soon as possible."

Mass sprint in Qatar: Degenkolb 8th, Koen fell
The third stage which took the peloton from Al Wakra to Mesaieed over 143 kilometre ended as expected in a mass sprint. Several riders of the Argos-Shimano team worked at the front in the finale to bring team leader John Degenkolb to the front. Koen was not able to do this, Koen had fallen in a pile up 65km into the stage and was suffering from hitting the tarmac. Degenkolb went very early in the sprint and slowed after which he was swamped by several sprinters. Ex-world champion Mark Cavendish won the stage. Degenkolb came in 8th place, while Koen crossed the line in 51st.

11th in the team time trial
The second stage of the Tour of Qatar consisted of a team time trial over 14 kilometers starting and finishing in Al Rufaa Street. Koen's team, Argos-Shimano, took 11th place, 30 second down on BMC which contained stage 1 winner Brent Brookwalter. Click here for Koen's reaction....

Photo: The Argos-Shimano formation during the team time trial in Qatar (with thanks to Cor Vos)

37th in the first stage of the Tour of Qatar
The first stage of the Tour of Qatar took the peloton from Katara Cultural Village to Dukhan Beach over 145 kilometers and Koen came in 37th place. Koen was in the shrunken peloton of 50 who chased a break of three. The break managed to stay out of the grasp of the peloton with American Brookwalter taking the stage honours.

Photo: Koen ahead of the first stage in Qatar on the way to sign in (with thanks to Cor Vos)

18th in final stage
Koen finished off the Tour Down Under with 18th place in the final 90km stage in Adelaide. The Argos-Shimano team had a good plan to set up Marcel Kittel for the sprint. Unfortunately it did not go to plan and Koen ended up being the only Argos rider who could dispute the sprint. Koen came in 18th behind Andre Greipel who took his third stage win in this year's edition of the Australian stage race. Tom-Jelte Slagter won the overall classification. Koen finished in 75th place.

Part of the early breakaway
Koen joined the early break during 151.5km stage five which brought the peloton from McLaren Vale to Old Willunga Hill. Unfortunately the break wasn't able to stay ahead in the mountain stage of the race, and after being caught Koen joined the bus at the back. Koen crossed the line in 100th place, 12'49" down on Australian stage winner Simon Gerrans who won ahead of Dutch man Tom-Jelte Slagter from Blanco Pro Cycling. Slagter took the leaders jersey with just a flat stage left of 90km in the streets of Adelaide.

"It was Australian Day", aldus Koen. "A great day to train so I wanted to be part of the breakaway and that worked out. Unfortunately we didn't get enough space but it was worth the try, eitherway I felt good.."

Photo: Koen leads the leading group at the start of the fifth stage (with thanks to Cor Vos)

Greipel wins a second stage, Kittel sixth
The fourth stage from Modbury Tanunda took the peloton over 126.5 kilometers and was once again a sprinters stage. That meant that Koen's work was to set up the sprint train for Marcel Kittel. Unfortunately it didn't work out. Team mate Jonas Ahlstrand hit the deck with 8km to go and Koen just managed to miss him by several millimeters. With Ahlstrand out of the train, the team was missing a rider for the leadout. In the sprint Kittel wasn't able to accelerate at the right moment and he ended up in sixth place behind Greipel who won his second stage. Koen crossed the line in 37th place in the peloton.

Not the best legs yet, 32nd
Koen showed during the third stage that he's on the way to some good form but there is still some room for improvement. On the stage from Urley to Stirling over 136 kilometers, he was able to stay towards the front of the peloton while the race developed and the peloton broke. Forty riders went stayed together for the final surge but Koen didn't have the legs to sprint for the stage win. Koen crossed the line in 32nd place, 18 seconds down from his compatriot Tom-Jelte Slagter who won the sprint at the uphill finish ahead of Australian fastman Matthew Goss and Belgium's world champion Philippe Gilbert. Koen is now 32nd overall in the general classification.  

Koen 47th in second stage of the Tour Down Under
The second stage of the Tour Down Under brought the peloton over a tough route of 116 kilometers from Mount Barker to Rostrevor. Koen expected the stage to be tough but didn't expect the finish to turn out the way it did. Koen had to let the leading peloton go ahead early on in the stage and ended up crossing the line of the broken up peloton in 47th place, 2'23" down on Briton Geraint Thomas who won the stage. In the general classification Koen is now in 45th place.

"The stage was going well," Koen said from Australia. "I was not super on the climb so I just let them go on. In hindsight it was a good thing because I missed the big crash from the group I would have been in, where pretty much all the guys fell."

Greipel wins first stage of the Tour Down Under
Andre Greipel and not Marcel Kittel won the first stage of the Tour Down Under that took the peloton 135 kilometres from Prospect to Lobethal. Koen's objective was to launch Kittel from the sprint train but that did not work out as Koen was no longer part in the front group, just like much of the other sprinters, as the peloton broke apart in the hectic lead up to the finish. It was German Andre Greipel who won ahead of Frenchman Arnaud Demaare and Australian Mark Renshaw. Koen crossed the line in the main peloton in 67th place. Wednesday's stage is a tough one according to Koen.  The team will have to see who is in the leading group in the finale of the second stage of this World Tour race.

29th in People's Choice Classic
On Sunday, Koen lined out for the People's Choice Classic, the traditional warm-up criterium race ahead of the Tour Down Under. The 51 kilometre criterium was in the streets of Adelaide and was won by German Andre Greipel. Koen came in 29th. The Tour Down Under will start on Tuesday January 22nd and is the opening race of the World Tour.

Photo: The Argos-Shimano team ahead of the start of the People's Choice Classic (with thanks to Cor Vos)

Mitchelton Wines Bay Cycling Classic
Koen wil line up from the 1st to the 4th of January in a four day criterium in the surrounds of Melbourne, Australia for the Mitchelton Wines Bay Cycling Classic. Koen will be part of a five man Degani Bakery Café team with Lotto rider Greg Henderon amongst others. In the first race, Henderson went on the attack at the start of the race but he was caught at about half way. Henderson did manage to hold on to finish 5th and he was awarded as most aggressive rider. Koen did not finish the race. On the second day, Henderson defended his lead in the sprint classification during the stage. Koen crossed the finish line in 20th place, 30 seconds down on the day's winner.

5th in Melbourne Criterium Sprint Championships
On Sunday December 23rd the Melbourne Criterium Sprint Championships took place in Melbourne, Australia. This comprises of a criterium in the streets of Melbourne over roughly 90 minutes with five laps with 20 sprints along the way where 500 Australian dollars could be won at each sprint. The prize money for the total race was 17,500 Australian dollars. Koen took part of the criterium in a team under the name of O2 Network where he joined Simon Gerrans (Australian champion and winner of Milan-San Remo), Greg Henderson, Michael Matthews, Calvin Watson and Duncan Smith. The field starting the event comprised mainly of Australian and New Zealand professionals with several European professionals. Koen ended the race in 5th place. Champagne was given to the first five riders, so Koen took part in the celebrations as can be seen from the photo (with thanks to Pat Fitzpatrick).

Koen helped set 2 Guinness World Records
On Tuesday night December 11th Koen helped set 2 Guinness World Records in Melbourne Australia. Together with other several riders, including Cadel Evans, they:

-Generated the most electrical energy by pedalling on bicycles in one hour
-Lit the most lights by pedal power

Well done to everyone involved!

UCI granted Argos-Shimano a WorldTour license
UCI awarded the final WorldTour-licenses, with Argos-Shimano be one of them. So Argos-Shimano is ProTour team for the next four years.

The WT-peloton 2013 is

The Netherlands
Rabobank/white label
Vacansoleil-DCM
Argos-Shimano

USA
BMC Racing Team
Garmin-Sharp

Belgium
Omega Pharma-Quick Step
Lotto-Belisol

France
FDJ
Ag2R-la Mondiale

Spain
Team Movistar
Euskaltel

Italy
Lampre-Merida
Cannondale

Australia
Orica-Greenedge

Kazachstan
Astana

Denmark
Saxo-Tinkoff

Great Britain
Team SKY

Luxembourg
Radioshack-Nissan-Trek