“I will be the national coach of the women's elite” - Laurens ten Dam makes a surprise announcement
Cycling
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.
Read also
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.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment