Swiss rider Tom Bohli has been in the pro ranks for 10 years now, since he turned pro in 2015 on a BMC bike . In these 10 years, he didn’t finish on the podium too many times. His major results include a stage win in Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen (in 2016) but his best performance come from prologues and time trials: he finished 2nd and 3rd in the opening Prologue of his home race Tour de Romandie back in 2018 and 2019. For the rest of his career, Tom has been a great domestique, always working hard for the team’s success.
10.06.2024
Last week, Tom had the chance to try his luck at ZLM Tour, one of few stage races where GC contenders are sprinters and rouleurs, with the route being completely flat. The race started with a 14.7 km time trial around Westkapelle, Netherlands, where Tom started with a great result (6th place, 24” behind the winner). From the next day, breakaways animated the day whereas the latter stages were decided in bunch sprints: the Swiss rider was 6th on Stage 2, 12th on stage 3 and 4 and was one of the main protagonists of the final stage: he was part of a 12-men breakaway and was virtual GC leader, getting some bonus seconds at the intermediate sprints, which made his podium in the General Classification possible.
Surprise and relief were Tom’s emotions, who was happy to finally jump on the podium and even more to find his shape again, after some years struggling with health issues. Tom explains that since having COVID in 2020, his lungs never really felt the same. In January and March this year, he got a lung infection which kept him away from the bike and racing for some time: some examinations revealed the presence of a virus. “I am glad we could find the issue and treat it. I am really thankful to the team for investing in my health and giving me the time to fully recover. I had some days feeling empty and not being able train, and it looks now I am back to a good level. What’s more important, I finally enjoy riding my bike again, which feels so good!”.
Besides the numbers and watts on his Wahoo, Tom also loves other numbers: he’s a Mathematics student and loves science, as well as foreign languages. While taking a break from his studies at University, he’s still taking Chinese lessons to add to the other six languages he already speaks: German, French, English, Dutch, Spanish and Italian.
Tom is now in his second home in Belgium, but will head to Switzerland in the next days to spend time with his family before Swiss Championships next week, where he’ll be at the start of the TT and road race.
Photos: Spring Cycling