"We are concerned in the Netherlands" - Without Mathieu van der Poel is Dutch cycling in trouble?

Whilst Mathieu van der Poel wore the rainbow jersey for two monument victories in 2024, as well as winning the gravel worlds, the rest of Dutch cycling is having a less successful period. Just a few months ago, Robbert de Groot, from Team Visma | Lease a Bike development squad, revealed his concerns that without van der Poel, Dutch cycling would be in a difficult place.

And now, in an interview with Wielerflits, Rudi Kemna has agreed that there is a lack of talent development in the current pool of Dutch cyclists. “That is something we are fully engaged in. But we are also a bit concerned about the breadth in the Netherlands,” said Kemna, who works for the development team of Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL.

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“Next year there will again be fewer juniors who will participate in the competition category. So it seems that the pool from which we can draw Dutch talent is getting smaller and smaller. As a team, we are certainly committed to Dutch cycling, but we also scout talent worldwide. We are a WorldTeam and we have to fully commit to that as well.”

“We are convinced that you should not only know the physical side, but also the mental and technical side of a cyclist. You can provide appropriate guidance for that,” he continued. “Then your development will go much faster. We always want to go for top sport. As you know, you have to do a lot for that, but also give up a lot.

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“Who is prepared for that? Who can reach the top with the mental and technical side? Physically is the easiest in that respect: someone either has talent or they don't. You can fine-tune mental talent a bit, but you also have to be a bit of an idiot - in the good sense of the word - to be willing to do so much for it as a cyclist.

When asked about how his development team compares to a football club, Kemna said, “We want to work with every talent that we welcome into our team for years. Of course, that depends on the development, drive, eagerness to learn and whether our approach works for that person. With us, there is always room to grow, both in the training team and in our WorldTeam.

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“You can climb places in the hierarchy, you can ride a different program. If you do well, then that is possible. We think it is super motivating to let talents develop further. And also for older riders to keep fighting for their current position,” he continued.

“We only want to promote a rider to our WorldTeam when he or she is ready for it. And I have to say that the UCI mix rule has been a very good tool for that in recent years. Riders from the development team can see very well in .1 races with the pros how far they are, where they are still missing something and especially where there are opportunities. Riders get an answer there to the question of what is needed to grow into a good cyclist. You can also clearly indicate the difference with the riders from our WorldTeam. In my opinion, that works very well.”