Who? Pim Ligthart, 10 years of pro cycling experience under his belt.  What about him? Pim rode professionally for 10 seasons at the top levels of the sports and score magnificent wins like the 2010 Dutch Road Race Nationals, Ronde van Drenthe and GP Marseillaise.  How did he perform? Fresh off his retirement as a professional cyclist, Pim wanted to share his knowledge, experience, and advice with young and upcoming talents, so the Academy was the right fit for him. He was on the team for a year and served as a DS,…continue reading →

Who? Ioannis Tamouridis, Greek National Track and Time Trial hero.  What about him? Ten times National time trial champion, five times road race champion, countless times on the track as well, Olympic medalist, World Champion ... Quite a presentation card.  How did he perform? He joined the team ahead of the 2019 season, following the departure of countryman Vasilis Anastopoulus, as Performance Manager. The tricky 2020 season was his first one, but over the two-year span that he worked with the team a total of 8 riders made the move up to the…continue reading →

Who? Aike Visbeek, Dutch roots, Swedish life.  What about him? Aike Visbeek joined the team as Academy Manager ahead of the 2020 season. After a very successful career as a Performance Coach and Sports Director at Team DSM, he felt that he wanted to make another step and work on the development of tomorrow's stars. He took the role in the midst of an expansion phase of the team, but he had to face the most difficult season of all as the Covid-19 pandemic sent all the plans back to the drawing board…continue reading →

Who? Marco 'Tricolore' Frigo.  What about him?    Marco joined the Academy as a second-year U23 after taking the Italian scene by storm in his first year. As a talented climber and a punchy rider, he took the win in the U23 Italian Road Race Nationals and secured the Best Young Rider Jersey at the Giro del Veneto. Such a presentation card made it clear that we were talking about a rider with a massive engine.     How did he perform?   The Covid-19 pandemic shortened his list of goals for 2020, but…continue reading →

Who? Dries de Pooter, the master from Geel.  What about him?    Dries joined the Academy straight from the Junior ranks after being one of the most promising prospects of the category. He dominated the national scene with several high placements with the highlight being the Belgium Junior Road Race title.    How did he perform?   He was at the Academy for just one season and he adapted really well at the category. His first races were already against a WorldTour start list which impacted positively and largely to his learning curve.…continue reading →

Who? Wessel 'America Dreaming' Krul.  What about him?    Krul joined our team as a trainee deep in his first-year U23 and with accolades of having placed second in the U23 Dutch TT Nationals and in the opening prologue of the International Beloften Weekend. He was seen as a TT specialist.    How did he perform?   His first full year with the Academy was the tricky 2020, in which his goals were reduced because of the lack of racing due to the pandemic, however, he was determined to keep on working hard…continue reading →

Who? Stan 'Mr. Consistency' van Tricht.  What about him?    Stan joined the Academy late in 2019 as  a trainee to set the ground running for his last two years at the U23 ranks. He came in as a solid one-day race and with the goal and developing a wider range of skills to make him WorldTour material.    How did he perform?   Already in 2020, he showed the type of rider that he was, and after a very strong off-season, he won his first one-day race in Belgium. He kept progressing…continue reading →

Who? Corbin Strong, World Champion on the track, a prodigy on the road.  What about him?  Corbin joined our program at the start of 2020 from St. George Continental Cycling Team, after putting together promising performances in the UCI Asia Tour. He came in as a fast sprinter and a track specialist ready to make the next step with his first-ever European experiences.    How did he perform? We could not start in a better way as in February 2020, Corbin was crowned Points World Track Champion in Berlin. After that, his stint…continue reading →

Who? Daan Hoole, 1,98m of pure quality on and off the bike.. What about him?  Daan Hoole joined the Academy straight from the Junior ranks. After four years in our program, he developed from a promising young rider with a great engine to one of the most dominant all-around riders in the U23 category. Aside from his performances on the bike, Daan was a true team leader off it as well.    How did he perform? Already in his first year in the Academy he showed a glimpse of what he was capable…continue reading →

Who? Jordi Meeus, the lion of Lommel. What about him?  Jordi Meeus joined the Academy program as a trainee towards the end of the 2017 season as a first-year U23 as a talented and promising rider. Three and half years later he developed into one of the most dominant sprinters of the U23 ranks and a very strong one-day racer.    How did he perform? Already in his first full season at the Academy, Meeus snatched a win at 1.1's Gooikse Pijl which already brought his name to the table of the teams…continue reading →