Our First World Championships: A Journey of Growth and Grit

After a strong season in the Europa Cup, this event was the perfect test to see where we stood against the best in the world. Our two-man bobsleigh season hadn’t gone exactly as we had hoped, so we knew it would be a big challenge to break into the top 20 teams.

The first two runs on Saturday weren’t ideal, and we ended the day in 21st place. In bobsleigh, that’s not where you want to be after day one. The top 20 teams get a coveted fourth run, and we knew we had work to do if we wanted to move up.

As we prepared for our third run, the weather shifted—it started snowing. This typically makes the ice slower, which can complicate things further. But fortune was on our side. The Chinese pilot Sun, who was 17th at the time, made some mistakes in his third run. This opened up an opportunity for us. After a solid start time—the 13th fastest—and a clean run, we crossed the finish line in 20th place. Just enough to qualify for the fourth run.

The final run was smooth, and we managed to gain one more position, finishing 19th overall.

To cap off a memorable weekend, we attended the award ceremony, where I was named "Rookie of the Season" as the pilot. It was a great honor and a perfect way to end the two-man competition. But the celebrations were short-lived—we had to shift focus quickly as the four-man event was just around the corner.

The four-man bobsleigh presented its own set of challenges. A tough training week, including a crash out of corner 9, added some pressure. Despite this, we had a strong first day and finished 15th. The second day was solid as well, although I made a few small errors that saw us end up in 16th place. However, given the season we had, we were satisfied with this result.

What stood out in the four-man event were our start times. In both the third and fourth runs, we posted the eighth fastest starts of the entire field. This was a major achievement for a team that has only been together for a year. Considering that we don’t have the facilities in the Netherlands to practice our starts during the summer, it’s something we are extremely proud of.

All in all, the World Championships in Winterberg were the highlight of our season. It felt like a home event, with so many Dutch fans, family, and friends lining the track to cheer us on. Their support made the experience even more special, and we were proud to showcase the excitement of bobsleigh to everyone.

We’re leaving the season behind with a lot to be proud of and even more to work towards as we continue our journey as a team.