Hailing from Heukelum in the Dutch province of Gelderland, and at the still relatively tender age of 27, Fabio is one of the most successful sprinters in the current professional peloton with over 45 wins, and at the still relatively tender age of 27, is a fresh face to the team in 2024.
Not from a competitive cycling family as such, Fabio was always into sports when he was younger and tried his hand at football, skiing, karate and swimming to name a few but cycling was always a passion of his. Racing his bike up and down the street against his friends and neighbours, he started to take the sport more seriously and from around the age of 12 or 13 he only rode his bike.
“From when I could ride a bike I always wanted to go fast. I don’t have much fear on the bike.”
A fan of being outside and the speed of the sport in general, Fabio also enjoys how you can explore lots of different places and the freedom that cycling brings as “outside is free”. He jokes that as a youngster he did some speed skating and “got bored of going left”, so cyclocross, mountain bike and then road were his passions from therein.
Despite his talkative and relaxed manner, there a driven individual behind the friendly smile and that is evident when Fabio talks about his love for competition, because he “hates losing”. Although he does admit that he has learned how to be graceful in defeat, it is that passion and willingness for it not to happen again that drives him.
“If you really want to win then you put in a lot of work and that’s what I’ve done over the past decade. To be a sprinter as well, you must be willing to go all-in to be the first one at the line and finish it off for your teammates. I think you need to have a certain type of mindset.”
Fabio’s life was turned upside down after the now much documented horror crash at the Tour de Pologne in 2020, but instead of focusing on the negatives of it, Fabio has learned to take the positives from it. Coming back step-by-step, after an intensive period of rehab, he returned to the peloton and was able to take a “dream win” at the Tour de France in 2022.
“It did shape me more into the person I have become. I think it was always in there, but sometimes in life you get tested, and you then can show what you are made of and willing to do to get through the hard times.”
With several years ahead at the team, Fabio is excited to continue and build on the “legacy and heritage” the team has in terms of having successful sprinters and sprint trains; being part of that was “one of the big reasons” why he joined. Yet, it is also the “human side” too which Fabio finds to his liking at the team, and he appreciates how the “the riders and staff are taken care of.”
Make no mistake though, there is a burning desire within Fabio to continue to take wins at the highest level and he fully believes that he is “in the right place to do that.” However, he loves the team aspect of the sport and enjoys the mix of “young guys and more experienced ones” that are in the sprint group. It’s all “give and take” for him as he enjoys sharing his knowledge with the guys who are eager to learn but equally Fabio also takes a lot of energy from seeing how motivated the early twenty somethings are.
“It’s a good atmosphere within the group with the goal of winning sprints. They will help meand I will help them. That’s how you create a team.”
Away from the bike, Fabio likes spending time with his family and wife; enjoying the simple pleasures in life – something which he is grateful to have. When he’s not relaxing at home making a “mean espresso” then you might catch him on the dancefloor at an off-season wedding, although he jokes, he’s “really terrible but likes to have fun”. We maybe don’t have a TikTok star in the making then!