I rode my first race when I was 12 years old. I rode my last when I was 34 years old when I said goodbye to cycling as a professional cyclist to became a recreational rider again. cycling enthusiast. I really enjoyed my first Milan-San Remo, my first Tour De France, my 5th place at the Champs-Elyssees, not to mention the victories I could achieve in the sporting field.

Cycling also has its rest days and I made it a sport to combine this with fun and pleasant stops at “an espresso bar” or coffee house. As such coffee became another passion and since 2019 I have launched my own coffee blend. After years of tasting I have put together something myself and in August 2021 I  even opened my “espresso bar” under the name “FRINGALE” which means a hunger knock that we know from cycling. Fringale comes with the values ​​of “coffee-bike-stories”. Start and finish or my rides are usually at Café Fringale with a coffee of your choice and a pastry of the day as a finish.

I run Fringale together with my wife Marie-Claude Hamel and we have a son Alec together. Marie was born in Montreal and is Canadian, she speaks French, English, Spanish and Dutch is also going well. I speak Dutch, English and French. Alec, my wife and Café Fringale are my driving forces.