“I will be the national coach of the women's elite” - Laurens ten Dam makes a surprise announcement

Laurens ten Dam, a respected figure in the cycling world and former professional rider who achieved a notable 9th place finish in the General Classification at the 2014 Tour de France, has made headlines with a surprising announcement. At 43 years old, ten Dam revealed that he will be taking on the role of Dutch national coach for the elite women's cycling team. This development comes as a surprise, given that he is already serving as the national coach for gravel.

Ten Dam will be succeeding Loes Gunnewijk in this role. The announcement was made during his Live Slow Ride Fast podcast, where he shared the unexpected journey leading to his new position. “The new national coach is closer than you think. I will be the national coach of the women's elite. Of course, I wouldn't have thought that a few months ago,” he disclosed.

Reflecting on how the opportunity arose, ten Dam recounted, “During the last Tour de France, I was sitting next to Wilbert Broekhuizen of the KNWU at the table at De Avondetappe. He is of course the technical director there and I had already spoken to him before the national coaching for the gravel group. He threw the ball there and asked if it would not be something for me to take charge of the women's elite.”

The offer prompted mixed feelings for ten Dam. “I was very flattered, but what immediately occurred to me was that everyone around me had an opinion about it. What did appeal to me was that journey to the big goals, as I always did as a rider,” he said, acknowledging the challenge and the allure of working towards significant competitive milestones.

Ten Dam openly admitted to having limited experience in this kind of leadership role. “Can I arrange the logistics, can I manage the group? I've never done anything like that, I've only followed a one-year training course as a coach,” he noted, underscoring both the novelty of this challenge and his willingness to step up and contribute to the success of the elite women's team.