Night crits under floodlights or spending the whole day in the breakaway. Winning, losing, crashing and getting back up again, all this combines to create the overall picture defining that kind of cycling I love so much. Even if the moment itself seems so hard, that you only long for the end, it is experiences like the Tour de Martinique or the Tour de Guadeloupe that you'll never forget. Each day is a new fight, a fight against yourself, the weather, the other teams. Crowds celebrating every rider. 10 stages in the wet Caribbean heat. Epic days.

Even after 13 years of racing bikes on elite level, it is still a privilege for me being able to keep pedalling. Experiences like the Tour de Tunisie or UCI oneday races in the Moroccan desert right before Christmas, ground you with the pure impressions on and off the track. The sport unites us all and gives us unforgettable moments that we will someday call the #GOODTIMES.