After a busy season, tiders do often take it easy in the winter. That is not the case for Marc de Maar who spends the season in Curaçao where he is the race director of a mountain bike race this weekend.

The season the Roompot Orange Peoton rider had 59 race days and raced almost ten thousand kilometers. His season was marred by problems as he repeatedly had to deal with crashes and injuries.

At the end of September he was forced to end his season after a crash in the MTB Marathon Biescas in Spain. The 31-year old rider ended up in hospital with a broken shoulder and collarbone. De Maar has now almost recovered from those injuries.

After a brief stop in the Netherlands, De Maar travelled to Curaçao in early November, the country where he has lived for a long time. This weekend he is organizing Coral Estate Polar Classic, a mountain bike race for the islanders, with partner Walter Hofstede.

"In the years I lived there I got involved with the organization. From a small local race this has become a great event. Cycling is becoming increasingly popular in Curaçao and alongside co-organizer Walter I want to help."

The route of the mountain bike race is forty kilometers long, with start and finish in the residential resort Coral Estate where De Maar lives. At the start of the Coral Estate Classic, pro riders Danny van Poppel and Pieter Weening will line up alongside De Maar. 

"With sponsor Polar, the future of this event is guaranteed for three years. In the future we can take all directions with this race," said De Maar. Over time, he hopes to take over the place of the Amstel Curaçao Race. The race was a prominent cycling event but last year disappeared after thirteen editions.