“The goal of winning” – Ten Dam reacts as Vollering and van der Breggen fall short

Laurens ten Dam oversaw his first World Championships as head coach of the Dutch women’s team, but the day ended without the success they had hoped for. Anna van der Breggen struggled, Demi Vollering managed only seventh place, and Magdeleine Vallieres delivered a shock victory. For ten Dam, the disappointment was clear, though he also took positives from what he witnessed across his squad.

"You've obviously worked very hard towards this, with the goal of winning. And then you're disappointed when it doesn't happen. But if you zoom out, I definitely saw a team. Their tactics and communication were excellent, but physically they weren't good enough," he told In de Leiderstrui after the race.

The coach acknowledged Vollering and Riejanne Markus had not been at their best during the week. "They've had some trouble with that this week, but I wasn't wrong when they went crazy. (laughs) They were sharing a room, but they're still riding a fantastic race. As I've generally seen, a good team. That's what I wanted to see, and I can't comment on that."

Looking back at individual performances, ten Dam was measured. "'Riejanne jumped well and didn't take the lead. Shirin van Anrooij led the way, although in hindsight she might have been too good for that. Femke de Vries also rode a very good race. Demi was just as good as the rest of the group, but certainly not better. Anna wasn't as good as last Sunday, and Pauliena Rooijakkers and Yara Kastelijn were also a bit disappointing."

Preparation was not lacking, he insisted, pointing to their recent training. "They've all been at altitude, except for Femke. In that respect, the preparation was good, and I was also happy that we were here together for a week. I do know that the Swiss were at altitude together and they really rode a bear race, so I kept that in mind. You can see that it does help a bit."

Despite missing out on the podium, ten Dam stressed the cultural and tactical progress made. "There was certainly a legacy, with difficult questions: the tactics, the atmosphere, how we'll go through fire for each other... I really saw that, so that mission was accomplished. The fact that some riders were better now is a given."

For ten Dam, this championship marked a fresh start in his new role. "I think we've made a clean sweep. Everyone's starting from scratch, and that includes the coaching staff. I'm very happy with how we worked together at the KNWU, because it was quite an operation. As a rider, I'd arrive here, so to speak, and then I'd be in bed for half the day, haha."