Ferry Interviews - Jasmijn Muller (cap 2)

On Monday morning I cycled out to the IJmuiden ferry to interview the first few riders as they headed south. This is the third, and final, interview to be published, with Jasmijn Muller (cap 2). You can listen via soundcloud, or there is a transcript below.

https://soundcloud.com/user-135119035/ferry-interview-with-jasmijn

Julia: What’s your name and cap number?

Jasmijn: Jasmijn, no. 2

Julia: How are you doing?

Jasmijn: Good, I’m eating!

Julia: What are you eating?

Jasmijn: A vegetable kroket, it’s fairly innocent!

Julia: How’s the race treated you so far?

Jasmijn: It’s treated me really well, or I have treated the race better probably. I felt like I was burning up, then I realised that I was totally sunburnt, so I bought some suntan lotion. It’s a lot better today! At first I thought, is it the effort, or the lack of sleep, or is it my period coming up? Why am I burning up? And then I looked in the mirror and thought a-ha, sunburn!

Julia: How does it compare to last year?

Jasmijn: Much easier, yeah! Temperature’s perfect, the wind’s been mostly good. Massive tail wind on day one, then day two some tricky cross wind in the north. Fewer sheep.

Julia: Fewer sheep?

Jasmijn: I stopped so many times in the north, I kept checking the route, restarting it again. I was adamant I was disqualified because I was on the wrong roads because I didn’t recognise any of it. I thought there should be more sheep. Where were the bloody sheep? And then in the end I realised no, it’s because of this change around Lauwersoog, which on paper doesn’t look that big but in reality it’s much, much longer. Then I realised of course I am on the right roads but when you don’t see other people around, you’re thinking, oh no, I don’t want to go all the way back!

So yeah, big crosswinds, loads of rain, got really wet.

Didn’t sleep on the first night. I went to the NH Groningen, I thought I’d sleep but it was fully booked, fine, so I kept going. Then yesterday I slept at a hotel next to wildbunch which was very nice

Julia: How much sleep have you got?

Jasmijn: About 4 hours, it’s good.

Julia: Do you reckon you’ll sleep again before the finish?

Jasmijn: I’m not sure yet, I’ve got options marked off and I’ve got my bivvy kit but I’m not pre-planning my sleeps, just feeling how I am. Probably is better if I do sleep!

Julia: You have a 200km lead on Marianne, she passed through Amsterdam about 10 minutes ago.

Jasmijn: Good!

Julia: All 5 are still running, I’ve been so concentrating on the front half I’ve not looked for the bottom three yet.

Jasmijn: All 5 still running, that’s good.

Julia: You’re coming up on Noordwijk and Katwijk, so it’s going to start getting all new soon.

Jasmijn: Yes, once I’m past Noordwijk, then it starts.

Julia: Are you looking forward to it?

Jasmijn: Yes, because after I scratched, I then rode on to where a friend of ours lived and I went through dunes, it was so beautiful. I’m really looking forward to racing that because those dunes are tarmac surface. Whereas the other dunes we just came out of are klinkers [Ed: Dutch block paving] . Once everything is a bit sore, I was basically riding the whole thing, 20km maybe, standing out of the saddle, just not to have any impact!

Julia: How are the contact points?

Jasmijn: Hands are good, feet are good, labia are a little bit swollen! So, I can’t time trial much anymore, that does too much damage! If I sit upright it’s fine. I’ve got some happy bum butter.

Julia: Any issues with the bike?

Jasmijn: The tyres aren’t holding the air very well, so I have to keep stopping and pumping them up.

Julia: Are you running tubeless?

Jasmijn: Yeah. It’s just surfaced but I’m not sure what’s going on. At one point, you know when you get out of the saddle and put some power through, you realise with the movement that the front tyre is nearly flat. Can’t see a hole, can’t see any of the sealant, so I just pumped it up to see if it would hold. Which it did. But then by the evening I had to pump it, so I’m getting a good arm workout!

Julia: A full body workout!

Jasmijn: Yeah!

Julia: Well, we’re about to dock so good luck and ride strong!

Thanks to dotwatcher Bethan for transcribing this interview.