A truck full of clothes for Roxane Knetemann

There are those people you think you know personally because you've seen them in so many forms on TV for so long. Roxane Knetemann is one of them. We ‘knew’ her father, followed her career as a cyclist, and now I always enjoy her down-to-earth attitude at VI, where she often gets to join. Although for Roxane, Friday is actually the starting signal for a work weekend, she does have the Thank God It’s Friday feeling, because if anyone has made their hobby their work, it’s Roxane.

If you could give your life a score, what would it be?
“A very solid 8. In my work, I always want to improve, and of course, there are always little things that could be better, like making my house a bit nicer or something, but personally, I can't really name anything that could be better. So I’m almost heading towards a 9, and that sounds a bit too sweet and also a bit scary. So a very solid 8, just write that down.”

You're going to be busy this summer, huh?
“Absolutely. This is the last day of relative calm, I'm currently in Florence, and tomorrow the Tour de France 2024 starts here. From that moment on, I will be working every day for three and a half weeks to report on the Tour, and I’m really looking forward to it. The Tour is such a big event, so different. If you love cycling and sports like I do, you just want to be there. This will be my third Tour; I've never been on location for three weeks. We have a really nice group of people who give each other space, look out for each other, and with whom you can really talk about cycling. My husband won't be visiting because I'm really working there. It’s almost difficult to divide your attention with people outside your bubble.”

How do you manage your outfits during the Tour? You have to bring clothing for three and a half weeks, it seems to me.
“I am dressed by ‘Stijlburo’ of Geryanne Katerberg, who provides a very large bag of clothing. We have a big truck with the NOS team where all the clothing we will wear during the Tour is hanging. I also take a large bag with me because I love to exercise, so I want to have enough with me. What’s nice about France is that at large parking lots and those big supermarkets, there are also laundries where your clothes can be washed and dried in twenty minutes. You just have to know where that is, of course, but it’s ideal. And if that doesn’t work out, then just the old hand wash.”

And is there someone who does your makeup?
“Ursula Pel, a very good makeup artist, travels with us. When I sit at the table with Dione (de Graaff, MM), Ursula really does my makeup, and we go a bit all out. During the items I make during the day and when I’m switched with Dione and I’m standing somewhere, for example, at the cyclists” hotel, I do my own makeup. I’ve had some makeup lessons from Ursula, so that will be fine. I also think it’s important that it doesn’t look over the top. The Avondetappe is shown every day at 10:00 PM, and I provide the live commentary from 1:00 PM until the finish.”

This column is called Thank God It’s Friday. How do you feel on Friday at 5:00 PM?
“For everyone, the weekend starts, but for me, Friday is almost like Monday. I’m preparing for all the races that are happening over the weekend. I check Xbay, scroll through Instagram, look at cycling sites, review the race books, and check the course. So no drinks and Friday afternoon drinks for me. As an athlete, I obviously couldn’t do that, and I never started doing it.”

Your ideal weekend?
“Then my husband and I are with the dog in a beautiful nature reserve in South Africa, walking through the vineyards of Franschhoek. After a solid walk of about fifteen kilometers, we go for lunch and then back to our nice room. There we chill a bit, and then in the evening, we go out for a nice dinner again. On Sunday, we sleep in, I take a morning walk of maybe an hour, we have a late and extensive breakfast, and we hang out a bit. In the afternoon, we will definitely bike for a couple of hours with a coffee stop in between, and in the evening, we will have another nice dinner following the same recipe.’

And what music plays in the Knetemann household?
“I actually only play music while driving. After VI, when I drive home, I’m still a bit hyper from the broadcast, and then I often put on classical music. I’m not quite sure what I find the most beautiful classical music, so I have a Spotify playlist called: The Best of Classical Music. One piece touches me more than another, but I find it especially interesting what classical music does to me and why I find the bass in one piece very beautiful and in another piece much less appealing. I can imagine that during the Tour, I will also listen to classical music in my hotel room because I enjoy what it does to me.”

What do you like to read?
“Reading is difficult relaxation for me because I am dyslexic. In May, I had two weeks off and I read The Choice, by Edith Eger. Then I lose myself in such a book and am completely absorbed. I had that with Lost War Child by Thomas Sijtsma as well. When I was cycling, I read lighter books and always had a thriller by Karin Slaughter with me. Now I mainly want books that bring me something, from which I learn.”

And podcasts?
“I’m a bit too impatient for those. I often find them too long. What I do like is the podcast from NRC, where the news is reviewed every day in twenty minutes. I always hear an interesting angle or news fact there.”

Which restaurants are still on your list?
“Going out to eat is really our outing; we love it. It doesn’t have to be Michelin star level but also something more than just a steak on your plate, so to speak. We really enjoy eating at Oan Tafel near us and recently dined at De Abdij in Dokkum. That had been on our list for a long time, and we just checked it off. At home, we eat quite basic (no packages and bags and as much local and fresh as possible), but in a restaurant, we really love unexpected combinations and the whole experience. By the way, we are real potato eaters. People should eat more potatoes. They are healthy, come from our own country, so they don’t need to be transported, which is better for the environment. And it’s just very easy: they are tasty, and you can do a lot with them.”

The Avondetappe will be shown every evening from Friday, July 1, between 9:20 PM and 11:00 PM.

Image Roxane: @bylottelawant