Road Trip Kick off

Quirijn Waaijenberg • 24 April 2025

I’ll start off by saying: Cheers. I’m currently at the end of my first day on the road, sipping a cold 0% Australian beer.

Thursday morning kicked off with an early breakfast and a bit of packing before heading to the airport to pick up the rental car. That all went really smoothly—big shoutout to my mom for helping out with the reservation. The drive back to my place to grab my bike and the rest of my stuff took longer than expected, so I decided to have lunch first and then properly hit the road.


My first ride was around 2 hours away, just under Geelong on the Great Ocean Road. I originally planned a stop in Torquay, but ended up finding a better spot to ride about 20 minutes further down the road in Anglesea. I had a super chill ride in an actual bike park—really fun and relaxing.


After that, I booked a super cheap place in Lorne, but turns out it was 28 km away from where I actually wanted to be—to eat and maybe surf tomorrow. So yeah, that plan kinda sailed away from me or as I should say: drove away from me. Still, I grabbed a nice pizza and made my way to the accommodation for the night. It’s small but friendly, and I’m writing this blog under the stars—which is honestly something new for me.


I’ve decided I’m going to write a short blog every night on this 4-day road trip. Just taking a bit of a study break, getting out of my usual routine of training and always going to the same places. It’s time to explore a bit more of Australia.

Hope you enjoy reading these little blog posts as much as I enjoy sharing them.


Until tomorrow—Quirijn out.

by Quirijn Waaijenberg 26 September 2025
It’s Friday, the day before the race, and I’m currently chilling in bed while writing this piece about tomorrow and the past few days. Right now, the weather is dreadful, and it’s not looking much better for race day: lots of rain, and there’s even a chance the swim will be shortened — or that it could turn into a duathlon 😅. Honestly, a shorter swim would be better for me since I’m still coming back from my broken collarbone. The last few days have been amazing though. We had good weather and lots of fun during the course recons with the Dutchies. On Monday, I went out with my dad on the bike course in pouring rain and also dipped into the lake — surprisingly nice water at 19°C. Today it’s closer to 16°C. The bike course was super slippery in the rain, especially with the new downhill section near the end of the 16 km loop. On Tuesday, we went out with a big group for a two-lap ride in the sun, and later in the day we did an easy swim in the pool just to keep the shoulders loose. We wrapped it up with a pizza party with all the Dutchies in Molveno 🍕🇳🇱. On Wednesday, I only did two laps on the run course with some speed work. The run feels fast, but there’s one slippery section in the middle of the 5 km loop that could get tricky. Thursday was all about the bike: I took the cable car to the top of the climb and did the descent five times — with the last one freaking fast. It felt so good that it really got me hyped for race day. In the afternoon I chilled a bit, then went to watch the short track race that I narrowly missed qualifying for. Still, watching Romy Spoelder, Hugo Bosscher, and Bart Cooymans tear up the track was awesome. Both the men’s and women’s races had some epic battles at the front. And now, here we are: one day before the race. I went for an easy jog this morning with some speed — legs are feeling amazing. Later today I’ll do a short swim in the pool, then it’s dinner, bike check, and straight to bed. Tomorrow morning it’s game on: race day! 👉 You can follow the race live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VK9o1GcyBE 👉 Or check the live tracking: https://www.endu.net/en/events/xterra-world-championships/results My race tips for tomorrow: Swim: Survive it ! Just kidding 😅 — it’s going to be a mental game in the cold water. The most important part: even though it will be cold, try to get in the water before the start so your body adjusts properly and it won’t be such a big shock. Bike: Push hard uphill, stay careful on the downhills, and take corners high to keep speed and find easier lines. On the rock section: DON’T brake on rocks 🚫🪨. If you’re scared, just hop off the bike — better safe than crashing. Run: Full gas to the finish. Enjoy every second, because this is the LAST TIME in Molveno for the XTERRA World Champs! Have fun out there and race fast! — Q out ✌️
by Quirijn Waaijenberg 22 September 2025
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by Quirijn Waaijenberg 26 April 2025
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by Quirijn Waaijenberg 25 April 2025
I’m currently making small vlogs during the road trip — you can watch them on my Instagram @quirijnwaaijenberg. I’m learning the art of shameless self-promotion, let me know if I’m doing it right, lol.
by Quirijn Waaijenberg 17 April 2025
For everyone wondering why it's been a while—first off, I'm sorry I haven’t written anything sooner. The second reason is... I was busy wasting time. I had a difficult time settling into university life and training after the race. I had to do everything myself again, which isn’t great when you're tired and feeling a bit alone.