Annemiek van Vleuten believes Laurens ten Dam has a difficult task ahead as he takes over as coach of the Dutch women’s national team. The squad, once dominant in major championships, missed out on victory at the 2024 World Championships in Zürich after appearing to ride against each other rather than as a unit. It was a scenario reminiscent of the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where the Netherlands had four top favourites but failed to control the race, allowing Anna Kiesenhofer to take a shock gold medal.
Zürich exposed deep divisions
The World Championships in Zürich saw the Dutch team struggle without clear leadership, with Demi Vollering’s aggressive racing particularly standing out. Vollering drove the pace at the front of the race, but with teammates sitting behind in a chasing group, it was another example of a fractured team rather than a coordinated effort. It ultimately cost them the world title, and the lack of teamwork became a key talking point in the aftermath.
The failure in Zürich brought an end to Loes Gunnewijk’s tenure as national coach, with Ten Dam now tasked with restoring order. Van Vleuten, speaking to NOS, acknowledged the need for change. “I think it’s good that a new coach has come in. A fresh approach was needed. A new start with this group.”
However, she sees the same problems persisting unless Ten Dam can build unity within the squad. “The difficulty is that there are so many winners in the Dutch team. Then you have to mould them into a team for just one day in the year. But there will always be friction because you have a team full of winners. It doesn’t matter how good the coach is.”
Trust needs to be rebuilt
Van Vleuten believes the key issue is trust—something that has been missing in recent championships. “You need them to believe that if they work for someone else this year, they’ll have it repaid at a future World Championships. And that trust was definitely damaged last time. There’s work to do.”
Former Dutch rider Niki Terpstra agrees, seeing the challenge as significant. “It will be tough to fix things, especially after last year’s Worlds. That was another mess. Getting everyone on the same page again won’t be easy, but if anyone can do it, it’s Laurens. He’s very good at creating the right atmosphere, and in the end, that’s what you need.”
Terpstra also pointed to how the riders reacted in the aftermath of Zürich. “That World Championships hurt a lot of riders in the Dutch squad. Some of them didn’t even realise what was happening in the race at the time. But when they watched it back, they must have thought: what on earth happened there? There’s a lot of work to do, but there’s still time.”
With the Los Angeles Olympics approaching faster than you think, Ten Dam has limited time to turn a group of star riders into a cohesive unit. If the Netherlands wants to avoid another repeat of Tokyo 2021 or Zürich 2024, finding a leader within the team will be essential.
