The objectives Rutger put forward at the beginning of  the 2001 season were easy to formulate but difficult to realize:

• do as well as last year in the Belgian short distance competition.

• more attention toward long distance events

• one or two top-ten results in European events

The season has a superb start with two Superprestige (Belgian competition) victories in Geel and Leuven. Unfortunately, like many other athletes, Rutger gets sick after the Leuven event (salmonella poisoning because of bad water quality in the canal). As a consequence his training schemes are jeopardized. He finishes 21st in the Zundert ITU Prestige and takes the second place in the Superprestige Middelkerke, after his team-mate Marino Vanhoenacker. The next race,  the European Championship in Carlsbad (Czech Republic), is a total disaster: Rutger is unable to qualify for the final. He has a very bad swimming leg and has to bike all alone against three preceding groups of athletes.


Afterwards, everything gets better again though. Rutger wins the Belgian Championship short distance triathlon in Antoing and takes silver in the Belgian Championship long distance. He continues his good performance with victories in the Superprestige races of Weiswampach and Meerhout and also becomes the overall winner of the 2001 Superprestige Cup.

The season ends with an incredible performance in the International long distance triathlon of Nice, where he finishes fifth!!!