The 19-year-old is only just getting started in her international career, but she has already begun to master the balance of road and track cycling, and is a testament that to keep up the balance, she doesn’t stop moving.

“I’m so thankful to Lifeplus-Wahoo that they give me the opportunity to race both,” van der Wolf said. “I think being on the road and track makes you stronger on both sides. In the winter, you need a bit of a race fight to break the winter training, and in the summer, you really feel that you have got a lot of speed from the track and have been racing so I think that’s really good.”

Speaking fresh from the European Track Championships in her home country of the Netherlands, van der Wolf is mature in her approach, knowing that as the years of racing rack up, her experience will grow.

“I didn’t really have any expectations going into the Euros, and that was a promise I’d made to my national coach,” she said, having finished 10th in the women’s elimination race. “I’m still young and I will learn, but I actually had a really great start to the race. The first phase of the elimination went really well – I rode smoothly through the bunch and tried to find more ways to move up. In the end, I lost my focus a bit and I was under the bunch so I was stuck and got boxed in, but I only learn from it. 

“At the start of the season, I just wanted to ride a lot of Madisons and gain a lot of experience on the track to put myself out there with the international girls to help my development. I wanted to see how much of a step it was and I just want to see how far I can get.”

The European Track Championships marked the final race on the track calendar for van der Wolf, and she relished in front of a Dutch crowd – something she had also experienced at the Six Day in Rotterdam, her home city.

“Normally there are a lot of spectators in Apeldoorn – the Dutch and Belgian fans are party people when it comes to cycling-,” van der Wolf said with a giggle, “and when I came into the velodrome, it was insane! It was sold out and the people were crazy - they were all screaming for every Dutchie and it was really awesome to see.

“Rotterdam was quite a show too, it was one of my favourite races. I was born in Rotterdam and won quite a few races there and the people were going crazy when I was in the breakaway – I kept getting goosebumps! It was really special because I didn’t expect it to be like that – it was really fun.”

Van der Wolf kicked off her international track season back in November last year at the 4 Jours de Geneve, finishing second in the Madison with Ireland’s Mia Griffin behind the American pairing of Jennifer Valente and Lily Williams, and also secured fifth place in the elimination.

Speaking back on her experience, she said, “I learned a lot from those races because Valente and Williams being there meant the speed was really high – you really notice how different the speed is between national and international races. 

“The Madison is actually the same as the elimination. In the elimination, you really have to race smart. I might not be the strongest or not quite there yet physically, but I know in the game, I can be smart as a rider and I dare a lot.”

Riding the Dutch National Track Championships in December, van der Wolf took second in the under-23 Madison with Lisa van Belle, and is inspired to keep working up into the elite ranks from her season of international racing. 

“Like Lotte Kopecky, I would like to keep the combination of track and road,” van der Wolf explained. “Kopecky smashed two races, one after the other and winning both of them [at the European Track Championships] – watching her was crazy. In the end, it’s only a dream if you can stand in her shoes someday.”

Despite being only 19-years-old, van der Wolf has already raced in the top level of the Women’s WorldTour with Lifeplus-Wahoo, including the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift during the 2023 season. For the young rider, it was a pinch me moment that left her hungry for more success.

She said, “2023 was just an amazing experience. I started with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Tour of Flanders and I even rode the Tour de France. Sometimes you’re a bit overloaded and you don’t know what’s happening to you – I was racing and racing and looking back I’m like ‘woah’. I was just 18 and racing the Tour de France - that’s just crazy! Just being there and riding the races on the highest level is just incredible and in a lot of races, I try to help every teammate. I think in every race, we were closer, and we kept pushing each other to get to the top. I think it was really great and we kept each other focused. The team really feel like a family to me - I was saying to my parents ‘I’m going to my second family.’”

Having spent many cold winter days in the Netherlands or Belgium on the track or her Wahoo Kickr, van der Wolf is excited to swap the track for the road bike and sport the new MAAP kit as the first races of the year are on the horizon.

“I’ve been riding in orange the past few weeks, and I can’t wait to ride in the MAAP kit. I don’t want to offend any other team, but our kit is the best kit at the moment. Even off the bike, I really like the street style, so it’s really cool to see how it all combines together. Also, I think the colours are great and really speak for the team, it’s just a really cool kit and I can’t wait to race in it.”  

And while the track season has been a successful one for van der Wolf, she hopes to continue that into 2024 on the road.

“I was watching the girls race in Australia, and they’ve already smashed it at the Tour Down Under and this is also just really good for the team - we’re already riding results.

“The beginning of the season, the Classics season, I really hope I will do good there and I hope we can have a good result with the team also. The Classics really are my favourite – they have some hills, but not too many, and cobbles and a bit of everything so it’s really hard racing and a good attritional race. The aim is high!”