Theo Bos (Belkin) is running as hot as the streets in Malaysia. In the national tour, the Tour de Langkawi, he collected four wins so far. Tomorrow he aims to end the race with win number five.
"First I just want to celebrate this," Bos said at the finish today. "The sprint train, especially with Brown the front, has worked perfectly this week for me."
Sweat and water rolled off Bos's face and dripped on his green and black team Belkin jersey. The tall Dutchman ruled the track for years, winning five world titles, and turned his attention to the road four years ago with Cervélo Test Team.
This season, he is off to his best start yet with four wins. Last year was nearly as good with one win in the Volta ao Algarve and three in Langkawi.
"Practice makes perfect even if it's not a perfect train yet," Bos's lead-out, Graeme Brown told Cycling Weekly. "These wins here in Malaysia set Bos up well for a great season. A sprinter needs to win. The more you win the more it becomes natural. If he can win five here and go to Drenthe and win one or two, then it all starts to just feel natural."
After leaving Malaysia, Bos will race the Dwars door Drenthe and build toward the Scheldeprijs on April 9.
"I just want to win as much as I can," Bos told Cycling Weekly yesterday. "Even if I'm not racing Milan-San Remo and the Tour de France, I have my goals. One race I'd like to pick up is the Scheldeprijs."
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Bos placed third behind Marcel Kittel and Tyler Farrar in 2012.
"Belkin will try to sprint with Moreno Hofland at Milan-San Remo now that the Pompeiana and Mànie climbs are out,” Bos added. “It's a nice a race but I don't think it's suitable for me. He did well in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and should do well in San Remo."
What most of his rivals realised in Malaysia is that Bos is almost unstoppable with Graeme Brown leading out. Only once, in stage two when Andrea Guardini (Astana) got ahead, did they fail.
Bos, before riding to collect another winner's medal, said: "I always say to Brownie, drop me off at 200 metres. He does that nine out of 10 times. He makes my job easy."
Theo Bos wins stage nine of the 2014 Tour of Langkawi
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
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