"I feel better about myself now than when I was still racing" - David van der Poel enjoys his new career as rider agent

David van der Poel's professional career came to a wrap at the end of last season, but that doesn't mean that Mathieu van der Poel's older brother completely withdrew from the world of cycling. Instead, he fully delved into his new role of a riders' agent as he hopes to change the whole concept of cyclist representatives.

Yet he still cycles regularly. "For fun. Alone, with dad or with friends. I like it this way. I feel better about myself now than I did the last two years when I was still racing," Van der Poel says in an interview with the Brabants Dagblad. "I am glad I made this decision. With an office job I might already be looking for something else, but as a riders agent I have found my place in my new life."

Some time ago, he highlighted key aspects about his new job in an extensive interview with WielerFlits. "The word we like to use ourselves is unburdening. That is as broad and as deep as the athlete wants it to be. In principle, they can come to us with everything they need. That can be very diverse. The most obvious is contract negotiations with the teams."

"But it can also be, for example, that an athlete wants to buy a house, but doesn't know anything about it. Then we will find out for that person. In principle, athletes can come to us with all their questions. Also outside of contracts, outside of cycling, outside of sports. Complete unburdening. We like to work behind the scenes. We believe that the athlete comes first and that we ourselves are actually not important at all."

"We don’t intend to contact just anyone," Van der Poel continues. "The character of the athletes must also match ours. And they should definitely not see us as a boss or paymaster, to name a few. We aim for friendly relationships with athletes. We are going to try to build a good relationship with team managers. We are currently working hard on that, to inform them about our project. People also need to get to know us."