Boy Van Poppel on team's decision to pair him with Arne Marit

'No pain, no gain' must have been running through Intermarché - Wanty's head coach Aike Visbeek this winter when he decided to gamble on two horses for 2024 bunch sprints. We've already witnessed Gerben Thijssen's rise to the top of sprinting world, and now it should be Arne Marit's turn. All of this under the guidance of experienced Dutch leadout Boy Van Poppel.

Thijssen and Van Poppel formed a well-working couple last year and so the decision to split the two couldn't be immediately accepted. "Gerben really didn't agree with that and neither did I," says the Dutchman to WielerFlits about their initial reaction. "We discussed this long and often with Aike. However, he stuck to his position, even though we really tried our best to change it. But Aike is the boss. At one point he said: 'I now need Boy to make Arne a top sprinter too'. That was a great honor for me to hear."

Ultimately, Thijssen also understood that choice. "I learned so much from Boy," he says. "Thanks to him, I now know better how to ride finals, how to remain calm and have confidence in myself. To have confidence in his lead out, or where he dropped me. Boy has so much experience and is a professional through and through. He explains well why we should come from the right or the left. Nine times out of ten the bunch sprint happened, as Boy told me before the start."

You could therefore see Van Poppel at Intermarché - Wanty as the mastermind of sprints. "Things always turn out differently than you think. The key to success for Arne will soon lie in being prepared for every scenario. I try to make this transparent for every sprint opportunity. I want my finisher to know what's coming. That Arne doesn't have to think or make mistakes, but can take action right away."

"Arne has a lot of potential. He is very enthusiastic and wants to win. But sometimes when you want to win, you want to win too much. That's why you make mistakes. You can still prevail with luck and sheer force, but that is no guarantee of lasting success. The first point of work for our train is to ensure that Arne starts the bunch sprint in a good position without any worries and can continue it well to the finish. Only then can we start looking at victories."