Previously focused solely on mountainbiking, Schellekens has been integrating road racing into his schedule this season. Bringing on the young Dutch rider with limited road experience fits Team Visma | Lease a Bike's broad scouting philosophy. In the current development team, Jørgen Nordhagen, who will move up to the WorldTeam next year, has a background in cross-country skiing.

While Nordhagen has moved on from cross-country skiing after winning a junior world title, Schellekens always intended to combine mountainbiking with road racing. “The combination can be complementary,” Schellekens explains. “Mountainbiking makes you very explosive. Road racing builds a strong endurance base. A good example is Tom Pidcock, who combines road racing with mountain biking. In the final laps of a mountain bike race, he often has something left compared to his competitors. On the road, he then has a strong finishing sprint after a grueling race.”

So far, the combination has had mixed success for Schellekens. “At the beginning of the season, I rode a lot on the road. This is my first full season with the team, so everything is new to me, and it has been a true learning experience. It’s been good so far, and I’ve learned a lot. However, I do find it challenging to switch between the two disciplines. It requires some adaptability, especially in training. I’m still searching for the right balance. The combination is a bit more difficult than I initially expected, but I really enjoy it. I believe it will make me a stronger and more complete rider,” says the U23 rider.

This week, Schellekens will start his focus on the Mountainbike World Championships from Tuesday. “My full focus is now on the championship. I will be working with my teammates to achieve something great. The next steps in road racing will hopefully come naturally.”

“On Tuesday, I will first compete in the qualification for the short race. As the name suggests, the course is a small loop. The top twenty riders will advance to the final race on Friday. The cross-country race will take place on Sunday. We will represent the Netherlands with four U23 riders. The course should suit me well, as it has quite a few elevation changes. That usually fits my strengths,” Schellekens concludes.