Brian Kamstra (born 5 July 1993) is a retired Dutch professional cyclist, who raced for UCI ProTeam . He currently lives in

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and is an ambassador for Castelli (brand) and Julbo eyewear. Kamstra is currently a

trail runner Trail running is a sport-activity which combines running, and, where there are steep gradients, hiking, that is run "on any unpaved surface". It is similar to both mountain and fell running (also known as hill running). Mountain running may, h ...

Career

Athletics

Kamstra was a 2-times National Champion in

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

, in 2010 and 2011. He competed at the 2011

European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championships ...

in Velenje,

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. He was considered one of the best juniors in the country. Achieving 4 National titles and over 10 National championship medals.

Cycling

In August 2015, he began racing as a stagiaire with the professional team. Kamstra started racing bikes in 2015 after being diagnosed with

Type 1 Diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...

in 2013. 2016 marked Kamstra's first full season as a professional. His first professional race was the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, finishing 77th overall. A week later he had his best result for the 2016 season with a 15th place in stage 4 of the

Herald Sun Tour The Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and provincial Victoria, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The first tour was held in October 1952 as a six-day event. It is now held annually ...

. His best result so far is a 10th place at the 2017

Tour de Taiwan The Tour de Taiwan is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Taiwan since 1978, and has been part of the UCI Asia Tour since 2005. It has been classed a 2.1 category race for the first time in 2012. History The Tour de Taiw ...

. Kamstra competed at the 2017, 2018 and 2021 editions of

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

Retirement

In 2021 he announced his retirement of Professional cycling. Despite having a contract for the 2022 season, he was diagnosed with a

Myopathy In medicine, myopathy is a disease of the muscle in which the muscle fibers do not function properly. This results in muscular weakness. ''Myopathy'' means muscle disease (Greek : myo- ''muscle'' + patheia '' -pathy'' : ''suffering''). This meani ...

. Kamstra is currently racing as a

and competes across Europe. Having won several events.

References

External links

* 1993 births Living people Dutch male cyclists Sportspeople from Assen Cyclists from Drenthe People with type 1 diabetes {{Netherlands-cycling-bio-1990s-stub