Martijn Maaskant, Washington D.C. Beginning tomorrow, the Argyle Armada will embark on a week long tour of the east coast that kicks of with the CSC Invitational in Arlington, VA and wraps up next Sunday with the Philadelphia International Championship in Philadelphia, PA. The 24-year-young Martijn Maaskant (left in front of White House!) is looking forward to competing in these events as his first-ever American races. Having landed in Washington, D.C. a few days ago to prepare for the upcoming races, Martijn recently talked to us about his hopes for his American debut.

Are you excited to be racing in the US for the first time?
It’s great to be on for these races! I have been here in the U.S. for holidays and for the training camp in November with the team, but never for a race. When I was a junior, I did a race in Canada, but I think racing here is totally different.

The riders on the team who have experience with these races have probably talked to you about the events. Is there any one race this week that best suit your strengths?
I’m glad that we have a lot of guys on this team here who have lots of experience with these races. For me, the last race on Sunday (Philadelphia International Championship) will be the best. It’s a really long race and every lap we have to do a nice 1 km climb (Manayunk Wall).

Martijn Maaskant, Magnus Backstedt, Washington, D.C.
Martijn and Maggy nicely framed between the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial.

Are you going to do any shopping? Or is there any thing else you will do while you are there that doesn’t have to do with cycling?
I will definitely do some shopping, especially for some of my friends and family in Europe. It is much cheaper here than in Europe at the moment. We already did some sight-seeing here in Washington - including several monuments and the White House! Hopefully I can see some more of the country in the next week.