Former professional rider Laurens ten Dam will become the new Dutch women's national road coach from January 1 2025, the country's KNWU federation announced on Thursday.
After a successful stint as the national gravel coach, which saw the Netherlands net both world titles in Leuven through Mathieu van der Poel and Marianne Vos, Ten Dam will replace the retiring Loes Gunnewijk, who has served as national coach since 2019.
Ten Dam was a pro for 16 years between 2004-2019 and has spent most of his time since racing for fun in the growing gravel scene. However, his time as national coach this past year has fully reignited his appetite for elite competition, prompting him to take on this new role when the opportunity arose.
“During my work as national coach for gravel, I noticed that I really missed performing at the highest top sport level - working together with a group towards the major tournaments such as a World Championships," said Ten Dam in a KNWU release.
"As an experienced expert, I am entering this adventure without any prejudices and that is how I want to work with the athletes. They have to be able to rely on me and I expect the same in return.
"It is really about forging a team with a clear mission. There is a lot of talent within Dutch women's cycling, so I am convinced that we are going to have some very good years ahead of us!"
The Dutch women's team has received widespread criticism for their tactics in recent seasons under Gunnewijk's watch, with their breadth of leaders often ending up as a hindrance. Ten Dam knows it will be no easy feat managing the women in orange, given there is so much pressure on them to perform.
"My advantage is that I have no past with the riders at all. So I am very objective about it. That is perhaps also one of the reasons that they asked me. I realize very well that there is still some talking to be done here and there," said Ten Dam to Algemeen Dagblad.
"I can't really judge past failures. But it's clear that I don't want any bickering. That starts with honesty. We're going to make very clear agreements about everyone's role in a race. You have to agree on that."
The last two World Championship road races and Olympic Games road races have been missed out on by the Netherlands, despite having several favourites on their roster. Ten Dam knows he must turn the tide, while also not underestimating his opposition.
"Being a national coach is a difficult task. As the Netherlands, we have a great group of riders. We have to take advantage of that," said the 43-year-old.
"But it is no longer a 'fill-in exercise' that the Dutch women always win everything. The sport has changed. There are also women riding in the front wearing other [nations'] jerseys. That is only good for the sport.
"But as I said: we have a lot of good riders. If there is a group of thirty left at a World Championship, there are normally nine Dutch women in it."
Ten Dam is hoping to restore a winning culture which saw the Dutch women win seven of the 11 World Championships road races between 2012 and 2022, with a wider goal of the 2028 LA Olympics to come after an evaluation at the end of 2025.
"I will definitely have to be tough, yes. That is part of this job. But I will not pretend to be someone else. I like a good atmosphere and that is the basis for success. And winning also helps, right? The best atmosphere is created when a lot is won," he said.
"Being a national coach is a difficult task. You only see the women a few times a year. They compete against each other the entire season and suddenly they are teammates in orange. It is therefore difficult to really form a group, but I think I can do it."
