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 1995

Rutger starts with triathlon in the beginning of 1995, at age 17.  He participates in a few smaller events with the junior athletes.

1996

At the beginning of 1996, there are ambitions. First of all Rutger wants to qualify for the European championship in July. This means he must end in the top-4 during a selection race in Geel. He finishes as 4th but, since he is  totally unknown by the people in the selection committee, his trainer has to insist that he must be qualified, according to the rules.  The championship in Hungary is not a success: Rutger looses minutes during the swim leg and is unable to catch-up afterwards. Back in Belgium he finishes third in Rotselaar, second in the Belgian championship duathlon and first in the triathlon of Lommel.  Then he wins his first Belgian champions title for junior triathletes by taking back more than 3 minutes in the final run. One week later Rutger participates in the world championship duathlon for juniors in Ferrara (Italy) and finishes 11th.
 

1997

In 1997 Rutger is still a junior athlete. The season starts well with a 2nd place in the international duathlon of Venray. A little later, Rutger wins the Belgian University Triathlon Champions title and finishes 5th in the European championship duathlon in Glogow (Poland). Back in Belgium he finishes 7th overall (1st junior) in the Superprestige race of Middelkerke. On July 31, he wins  the Belgian championship duathlon for juniors in Dworp. One month later he wins a bronze medal in the World Championship Duathlon for Juniors in Gernika (Spain). Rutger ends the season with a second victory in the Belgian championship for junior triathletes.

1998

In 1998, Rutger moves up to the elite categories. He has a good start in the European championship duathlon in Pulawy (Poland), where he finishes 13th. But then he falls during the bike leg of the Zundert triathlon race and gets injured.  By the time he has recovered of the injury, he has to interrupt his training to do his exams. He participates in a few more events, but in his first year as a senior, he is unable to excell. At the end of the season though, in the Belgian championship short distance, things seem to improve a little bit: Rutger finishes in 8th position.

1999

Up to now, Rutger has raced both nationally and internationally in duathlon and triathlon events. However, duathlon and triathlon require quite different training schemes, so, at the beginning of 1999 a choice has to be made. Despite his weakness in swimming, Rutger chooses triathlon, because he believes it is far more internationalized and has been selected as an Olympic sport.
He spends the winter with a lot of specialized swim training and starts the season with a first victory in a Superprestige race in Geel. During the remainder of the season Rutger will prove that this was not a victory by accident and that he now has joined the ranks of the Belgian toppers. He finishes 5th in the Superprestige Hollain and 2nd in the Superprestige Geldenaken. Finally he just misses the podium during the Belgian Championship by finishing 4th. He also ends 5th in the overall 1999 Superprestige ranking. The future looks very promising!