Laurens ten Dam reflects on navigating cycling’s darkest era: “If I notice anything, I'll end it”
Cycling
Laurens ten Dam turned professional in 2004, and by the time
he joined Rabobank in 2008, the cycling world was still reeling from years of
doping scandals. Just a year earlier, the sport had endured the fallout of the
infamous Michael Rasmussen incident at the Tour de France. It was a turbulent
time to be stepping into the WorldTour, a time when suspicion lingered and
integrity in the sport was still being rebuilt.
In a recent appearance on the podcast Clubhuis Team Lucas,
Ten Dam opened up about what it was like to make his way as a young rider
during that era. Remarkably, he speaks without bitterness toward those who
cheated. "I never got frustrated about that," he said, referring to
the riders who doped during his early years in the peloton.
Ten Dam’s journey through cycling was shaped as much by who
surrounded him as by what was happening in the sport at large. "I joined
the Bankgiroloterij in 2004 and had won two races as a junior," he
explained. "I was not Thomas Dekker, who was used to winning a lot. I
looked up to Matthé Pronk, who was outspokenly anti-doping. He wanted to be
able to tell his children that his health had not suffered from taking the
wrong things."
Influences like Pronk helped guide Ten Dam through a career
defined by clean racing, even while others around him were making different
choices. He also worked with Rudi Kemna, and later moved to Unibet, where he
came under the guidance of Andre Mihailov, a doctor with a complicated history
in the sport, having worked for TVM in the 1990s. Yet even Mihailov, Ten Dam
says, steered him away from doping.
"But he said: 'You got a gift from God.' He said that I
should never dope. He said to me: 'I also did EPO, but I only did more in the
race and rode a bit faster, but I didn't win anymore.' It only gave him stress
and hassle, he said."
Ten Dam's progression through the ranks was steady. He began
earning €22,000 as a neo-pro, with his salary doubling when he joined Unibet,
and doubling again after that. When he finally arrived at Rabobank, he got his
first opportunity to ride the Tour de France, and crucially, it coincided with
a change in the team’s internal culture.
"That's when the zero-tolerance policy came into
effect. So I've made it through quite well," he recalled. He reflected on
the paths of other riders with whom he came up, and how easily things could
have gone differently. "Then it might have been different. Theo quit after
three years, Thomas went to Vienna with Boogerd. And I was with two people who
advised me against it. I was also a bit lucky in that respect."
But perhaps the strongest influence of all came from outside
the sport. Ten Dam credits his wife, Thessa, with helping to keep him grounded
and focused on doing things the right way. "She said, 'If I notice
anything, I'll end it.' She was a high school teacher. She said, 'If colleagues
say you've driven so well, but I know the fridge is full of EPO, how am I
supposed to talk to those people?'"
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.
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