I raced cycling LEGENDS in Monaco | Vlog Ft. Tadej Pogačar, Sagan, Cavendish, Roglic & More!

What happens when I (an amateur) line up against the biggest names in cycling – right in the heart of Monaco?

In this intense BEKING Pro-Am race, I take on (Tour de France) legends Tadej Pogačar, Peter Sagan, Mark Cavendish, Primož Roglič and more on a fast-paced circuit through the stunning streets of Monaco city centre. It’s full gas from lap one — no holding back.

Check out BEKING for their awesome experience! https://bekingevents.com/en/

🎥 In this vlog:

Race footage + onboard action

How I held my own (and who I managed to beat 👀)

Pre/post-race scenes with the pros

Monaco vibes, tight corners, and flat-out racing

🏙️ Closed-road circuit. Elite-level speed. And one unforgettable experience.

💬 Drop a comment — how would YOU survive a race like this?

⚡ Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and tap the 🔔 for more elite-level cycling content from the amateur’s perspective.

0:00 Intro
1:25 Bike Check & Travel
3:01 Pre-Race Info
4:14 Unboxing Goodies
5:39 Race Summary
9:35 Results & Podium
11:11 Meeting the Pros & Lunch
11:55 Elite Race & Post-Race Interview
14:14 Exploring Monaco by Bike
16:22 Gala Dinner
17:14 Outro

#cycling #MonacoCycling #ProAmRace #Pogacar
#TourdeFrance #Sagan #Cavendish #Roglic #CyclingVlog #RoadCycling #UCI #CyclingLife #AmateurVsPro #tourdefrance #tour #tdf #tourdefrance2025 #monaco #montecarlo

[Music] Hi all, my name is Sander and I raced the 
fastest cycling pros as an amateur through the streets of Monaco. Welcome to the video. 
Hi all, it’s now the final week before the tour 2025. The video is a bit older, but I 
hope you still enjoy. Two things. Firstly, Michael Matthews, uh, hope you’re doing 
well. Get well soon and hope to see you back on the bike soon. and all the other 
riders in the tour. The best of luck. Last year, I was invited to race some of the 
biggest pros in cycling history through the streets of Monaco. At the starting list 
of this event, there were some insanely big names in cycling. For example, Pogacar, Mateo 
Trenin, Elia Vivani, Primož Roglic, Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews, Mark Cavendish and a lot 
more great cyclist who are listed in this view. So, I invest in a GoPro and packed my bags. Quick bike check. I’m riding a Giant 
Propel 2021 with Shimano Ultegra group set in gunmetal black. I’ve had this 
bike for a few years now and this is my winter setup with the light on it 
and the ass-saver. It is a great Aero bike which gives me a lot of benefit 
when racing on the flat Dutch roads. I said goodbye to the dogs and picked up 
my buddy Stijn, who I invited for this trip. He only bought his bike a few months 
ago. And now he was going to race Pogacar. So I’m making this video to hopefully inspire 
some people to pick up a bike or go outside and have some fun. It has brought me to the most 
beautiful places in this world and traveling to places where I never had gone if I did not had 
owned this bike. So hopefully this video also inspires you to go outside and have fun. And 
before you know, you can be racing your idols. So, what is this event and how did we end up here? 
Well, BEKING is a yearly event that comes back around November. It’s a nonprofit organization 
which focuses on a lot of charities. So you can register for this event and as a nonprofit 
organization the funds that they will raise will go directly to Charities. So check it out. 
So we were invited to do the pro amateur race a time trial through the streets of Monaco with 
two pro cyclist, one legend and three amateurs. We were linked with Mateo 
Mochetti, Michael Matthews, former Formula 1 driver and now 24-hour 
of Le-mans winner Brendon Hardley, and three amateurs, Stijn, myself, and 
another amateur who we  did not know yet. But hey, this was the dream team. In this format, we raced all other teams, who 
were also in teams of five. At this circuit. It was basically the last 
sector of the Formula  1 circuit with a small climb and also a small descent. 
Not really technical, but a lot of fun. Stijn; Today, the Pro-Amateur race Stijn; Sander, tell us who is in our team
We are with Micheal Matthews Brendon Hartley, former F1 Driver
And another cyclist (*Matteo Moschetti) Stijn; And what did we all get? Show us!
Today, we got some catalogs, to buy stuff Then we got…
What is this?! Glasses maybe?!
Oh Oh! New sunglass! Stijn; “Little” goodiebag haha

What do we have here? Chamoix cream! Always handy Some shampoo

Then… The jersey. Chic chic chic!

BEKING Then… Professional Cap!

A Buff And last but not least… Stijn; Drumroll please….. Oh yea! Look at it!

Look at it shine! Stijn; Very nice very nice!

Very nice indeed! Lets test it
Yep! Works like a charm! So, before we get into the race, I would like to 
thank a few people. Firstly, Mateo Trentin and his lovely partner Claudia, who made us feel very 
welcome at the event and who organised this very well. Also, a big thank you to the cyclist there 
and the people who organised it. It felt like a big family and really made us feel welcome at all 
times uh which was much appreciated. Thank you for that. So, we changed into our new outfits and 
went to the breakfast that was provided. [Music] As we were lining up, Peter Sagan came by. 
One of my biggest inspirations in the sport and I really looked up to him while I was 
younger. For a multiple-time world champion, one of the biggest sprinters of all 
time and one of the greatest legends of the sport. Now we knew what we were off to. So, five. Okay. So, we lined up, got ready 
to start, and without a recon, we took off. You see here we’re still always communicating. 
Go. You see here Brandon Hardley on the on the front. Actually a great cyclist. I did 
not even know he was a he was a cyclist, but uh he’s good. He trains a 
lot. I I can uh I can imagine. Come on. Here the the speed drops down a bit 
as we’re all checking back like, hey, are we are we still complete? 
Which we are. And then there was a third lap already finished. 
So it’s it’s flying by. [Music] And yeah, at total there were five laps. Two more, right? And here I ask like, “Yeah, two 
more laps, right?” And he indicates like, “Yep, two more laps.” And then we’re done. 
[Music] Mateo checks back and sees that we’re all together. And does a does a good pull. 
Now, he will flick the elbow in a second uh, for me to take over. Uh, which I will happily 
do. There he goes. He pulls off on the right. Final lap. And now we decide to hammer it together. I get 
in his wheel. Uh try to to stay close to him as possible and he puts his nose down and he just 
hammers it on the flat. You see I’m trying to get in my aero position as well. He’s so aerodynamic. 
It’s It’s really hard to get in his draft. Heart rate up to 181, hitting 44/ 45 km an 
hour. At the beginning I told Michael that I was going to beat him on the line. So, here I’m 
checking back if he’s going to sprint or not, but he wasn’t. And so, we just rode home together. 
Yeah. And getting up to 46. 47 km an hour and a quick bike throw and well we were across the line. 
So after a quick cool-down lap we are recapping this race and then this happened. I heard our name
crazy. The results.
Yeah, I heard our name. I think we’re on the podium.
Oh, actually, no way. That would be cool. So we ended up on the podium. This was really something 
we couldn’t have imagined, but really cool. So we got third place, just one second in front of P4. 
So yeah, we were on the podium. We received this glass medal, fully handmade. It says Baking Monaco 
2023 on it, engraved, which is a beautiful touch, and I’m very happy to have gotten this.
Unfortunately, we didn’t win. That went to Peter Sagan and his team. So that was good. But 
we did finish in front of Tadej Pogačar. So yeah, that is one of the craziest things that has ever 
happened to me. I don’t know what his time was, but apparently, he finished with his team a few 
places below us. So yeah, that’s one really cool thing to say — that I’ve beaten Tadej once in 
my life. Even if it was a pro-am race, it’s such an amazing thing to say and a nice touch.
So yeah, very happy with that. After the podium ceremony, we went back to the place 
where we also had breakfast, chilled a bit, and let it sink in — what had just happened. 
We took some pictures with the pros — and obviously the man himself, Tadej pogacar. 
After that, a very nice lunch was arranged. We had a lovely lunch and then the 
official race for the elites started. Stijn can you describe  how the ride went? How did it go? Yea we started quite well. With a kind of recon lap
because we did not do a lap before But yea I was the powerhouse of the group in the first few laps But maybe blew myself up a bit Then the last lap was… Make it or break it Podium or Jodium Pure character Pure character But podium in the end! We can be satisfied with the result Sander: And how many seconds
were there between us and P2? P2 was a difference of 6/7 seconds We would not have been able to beat them I think Sander: And the difference with P4? With P4 there was a 1 second difference So yea, the little push across the 
line that made the difference Sander: 1 second! Sander We won! Uh so yeah, we watched the elite race where we saw Michael Matthew on the attack on 
his own. So yeah, obviously very cool to see that we just raced with him and now he’s on the 
attack with these guys following him. And in the peloton obviously supporting our new friend Teo 
Machete. Here is the sprint. We saw Peter Sagan take the first place just in front of Pogacar. And 
here the sprint for the third place on the podium. Here, a small man crossed me just on 
the finish line. Turned out to be Peter Sagan’s son who cared in the exact same way 
as his father did. That was so cute to see. overtaken by some crazy cars, Lamborghinis, 
Ferraris, everything you can see here, which obviously for for some guys 
like us, it’s is great to see. So, we decided to do the rest of the lab of 
Monaco. Go to the casino, go to the slow corner, uh the switchback, and then through the tunnel. And yeah, it was great to see how 
it was like without the Formula 1. You see it on TV this many times and just 
to be there and cycle there it’s insane. After that, we went to the Prince of Monaco’s 
car collection, which was also absolutely mind-blowing. Uh, this guy’s collection is 
has everything from Formula 1 cars to rally cars to classic cars to new cars. Yeah, 
that was also so great to great to see. After that, we checked into our hotel which 
was also provided by the BEKING association which had an awesome location 
next to the track and the harbour. very nice. And to finish this day off, the 
coolest was yet to come. We were invited to the gala dinner to enjoy drinks and dinner with 
the pros and the people who organised it. Also all for charity and we got some more drinks after 
that in a bar, but that’s a story for another time. The day after with the massive hangover, we 
went cycling and saw around Monaco a bit and did a did a nice nice ride around the neighbourhood. 
And uh yeah, as you can see the lovely col d’eze we tried to do. Apparently, it was the wrong 
climb, but yeah, we didn’t know. Uh and we we cycled around the um yeah around the water in 
Monaco around the Côte d’Azurzur. So that was uh absolutely magnificent. After that joined 
the team as well, they really inspired me to uh to start racing. So now racing at an amateur/ 
elite level in the Netherlands, which has been great fun and uh well they really inspired me 
to do some more cycling and get better. So just know that I will be back with another video, 
maybe once more in Monaco later in my life, but uh for now it was a crazy once in a lifetime 
experience. Thank you all for watching. If you enjoyed the video, give a like, subscribe, 
and u maybe see you later. Bye. Bing bong.