PLACES I'D RATHER BE

Life in World Tour cycling with Sjors Beukeboom.

By GripGrab Field Notes

March 9^th, 2021

If you follow the Instagram account of @beukeb00m, also known to his friends and family as Sjors Beukeboom, you may well be envious over the travels of the self-acclaimed "Media Maniac". Especially, if you are a lover of Professional World Tour cycling. Sjors work as Press Officer for the Pro cycling Team Israel Start-Up Nation and his daily life is among team riders, audiences, media as well as being close-up and personal with a certain Mr. Christopher Froome.

Field Notes asked Sjors to put a few words on his life in World Tour cycling.

I signed the contract with Israel Start-Up Nation in December 2019, and two days later I was with the team on a training camp in Croatia and Israel. One month later I consecutively covered the Vuelta a San Juan, Vuelta a Valenciana, Tour Colombia, and the Tour du Rwanda, traveling three months straight before getting locked up for 59 days in a one-room-apartment.

Those cultural experiences next to the racing make being the press officer at Israel Start-Up Nation the dream job. Traveling to multiple different continents throughout one season is extraordinary. I normally get to see so many different cities, cultures, and people which is eye-opening in many ways.

I say 'normally' because since March 2020 the work has significantly changed. Even though it is nowadays even a bigger privilege to go abroad, the ‘bubbles’ to avoid contamination make the experience very different. For most of the races I am locked up in my hotel room, and I am not allowed to go any further than the locked gates of the hotel.

Strict regulations like these are crucial. They are necessary to keep racing in 2021 and should be respected at any moment. The memories from those few months of racing I did before the Covid-19 outbreak are consequently more special.

I remember the incredibly friendly people from San Juan, the way they enjoyed it when I tried to speak Spanish with them, and how excited they were when my rider (Rudy Barbier) won the opening stage. I remember when I went to one of the huge markets in Kigali and made photos and videos of the locals, the kids hugging me because I looked different, and how loud everyone shouted when the Rwandan riders broke away from the peloton. However, there is one specific memory that I surely will never forget.

It was stage two in the Tour Colombia and I traveled together with the soigneurs to the feed zone, over eighty kilometers into the race. We had around two hours of free time in the smallest town in the middle of nowhere. I started walking around, had a look at the local church, and then accidentally bumped into an elderly woman.

I said ‘excuse me’ in Spanish – ‘disculpe’ – and walked on, but the woman called me back and asked me to follow her to her home. So, I hesitantly did. A few minutes later, she introduced me first to her two rabbits, then to her cousin, nephew, and grandchildren. A few moments later all of them started calling other family members. Half an hour later I was having tea with the whole family, talking Spanish, and waiting for the race to arrive.

It is these special moments that keep me going. I hoped that season 2021 would allow us to be a bit more freedom than last year, but I guess I will have to add another season to live the full experience again. That’s okay. I am also looking forward to visiting African markets, celebrating victories with fans, and drinking tea with locals.