The 2026 summer of sport | “You can earn a bit of extra cash with a criterium”
It’s summer, which means all the major sporting events are kicking off again. UvA students are also getting fully involved. What’s at stake? That’s the subject of the six-part Folia series The sporting summer of 2026. This week, UvA student and cyclist Quinten Veling (27) is getting through the summer by riding in criteriums.
Quinten, over the past few years you’ve been struggling with a nasty injury to your femoral artery. How have the past few years been for you?
“Looking back over the past two and a half years, I can’t complain. I’ve won a lot at amateur level and, two years ago, I also signed a professional contract with the Diftar cycling team. I managed to achieve some good results there, but last year didn’t go quite as I’d hoped. My injury was causing me a lot of trouble; the compression of the femoral artery leads to back pain and your legs tire very quickly.”
Sport: Cycling
Degree: Econometrics
Cycling since: the age of 8th
Taking part in: The 46th Obdam criterium, 12 July 2026
“This year things are going better and I’m able to manage it more effectively with physiotherapy and exercises. I’ve been racing at amateur level again since 1 July. Now I can focus once more on winning criteriums and riding stage races (multi-day cycling races – ed.) abroad, which I enjoyed so much last year.”
What exactly is a criterium?
“A criterium is a race of around eighty kilometres over a circuit of about one kilometre, often through a village centre or residential area. Criteriums take place all year round, but they reach their peak after the Tour de France. That’s what they’re known for – riders who’ve done the Tour sometimes ride a criterium in their own country the very next day, the famous ‘Rondje om de kerk’ (lap around the church). These aren’t real races, more like parades, where riders are well paid. For the criteriums I ride, you don’t get a starting fee, but you can earn money by winning intermediate sprints or achieving a good final result. Recently, I’ve been riding as many as three a week.”
What’s fun about riding criteriums?
“The laps are short – you do as many as 60 to 80 of them – and the course is therefore very twisty. That makes the races really tough, so it’s every man for himself. In bigger races, it’s often more about tactics and playing it safe. Here, you stir things up straight away and your attacking tactics don’t really put you at a disadvantage. If you win the race, you get two hundred euros. Doing that three times a week: that’s a nice bit of pocket money.”
What’s at stake?
“I mainly use the criteriums to improve so I can ride stage races abroad again. I’ve been ill these past few weeks; I had to pull out of the Dutch Championships because I was in bed with a fever. So I hope to be back at my best soon and to win a few more races this summer.”
What are you still dreaming of?
“Of course, you dream of becoming a full-time professional cyclist and riding the Tour de France. That didn’t work out. But does that mean it’s been a failure? I don’t think so. Only a few lads get to ride the Tour, but there are also very few men who can win a criterium.”
“As a professional cyclist, you can only make a living from it if you compete in international races. To reach that level, you work just as hard as the other guys. I’ve decided to really turn that around now and finish my degree in econometrics. I’ll keep training alongside that, but the races will take second place.”
