"If you don't have the legs... it's a dead end" – Laurens ten Dam reflects on the Dutch women’s World Championships performance

The Dutch women’s team arrived at the World Championships in Kigali with high expectations and what was arguably the strongest squad, but ultimately missed out on the world title on Saturday. Riejanne Markus secured fifth place, finishing as the best Dutch rider.

Behind her, Demi Vollering outsprinted Pienaar Le Court and Marlen Reusser to finish in seventh place, while Anna van der Breggen, one of the main favourites before the start of the race, arrived more than 11 minutes behind the winner of the day, Magdeleine Vallieres.

Coach Laurens ten Dam, overseeing his first World Championships with the elite women, shared his thoughts on the performance and lessons learned during his podcast Live Slow Ride Fast.

"There are always small areas for improvement that I can take credit for. The riders could count on ice to cool down from lap three onwards, but perhaps we should have done that from the first lap. I'll have to be more vigilant about that next time," Ten Dam admitted.

He also noted the lack of support for Markus in the decisive group. "We're actually missing an extra rider in Riejanne's group. But the riders who qualified for that didn't have the legs. You can talk all you want beforehand, but if you don't have the legs... it's a dead end. I can't think of much else."

Despite the missed podium, the mood remained positive. “We were all happy. As a team, we simply put in a really good performance. We didn't let ourselves get carried away, and if a few of us are better, so be it. All agreements were fulfilled. I'll do the full race evaluation at the airport, but I gave them my compliments, and they're sincere. We'll discuss the details later.”

There will be little time to dwell on Kigali, with the European Championships starting Wednesday in France. "We land in Brussels and then I take the train to Valence. Then we'll be in Valence on Monday afternoon, and the individual time trials will follow on Wednesday. It's a busy schedule, but I'm enjoying it."

The Dutch team will be the strongest team, especially in the road race. Demi Vollering, Anna van der Breggen and Mischa Bredewold will lead the team, looking to win the title once again. Between the first edition in 2016 and 2024, the Netherlands have just missed out on the win in 2018, when Marta Bastianelli outsprinted Marianne Vos.

Neither Vos nor Lorena Wiebes, winner in 2022 and 2024, will appear on the start, as this year's route is fit for climbers. In the time trial, Bredewold and Nooijen are the two chosen women to fight for the victory.