Who? Nicholas ‘Nick’ Schultz. Brisbane roots. Australian made. What about him? Nick joined the Academy from French top amateur team CR4C Roanne. The time spent in France showed his potential for GC; his data told us we were dealing with a great talent here. It was just a matter of development to help this rider move up. How did he perform? He was super solid from the start, but made a big entrance in the world of cycling by winning Tour de Bretagne's last stage. That made Nick realise he had the talent…continue reading →

Who? Typical Flandrien but from Geel, in Belgium. What about him? Great talent. He came to our team with the Belgian title and a Tour of Flanders win – both at junior level – under his belt. Expectations regarding him in Belgium were pretty high, so it was a good decision to start his road to the pros with our Academy! How did he perform? He invested a lot and that was seen by our performance staff. The first time he shined was at Paris-Roubaix 2015. He was leading the race solo on…continue reading →

Who? Tim ‘Willem’ Ariesen. Dutchie, Dreamer. What about him? Tim made a good impression during the 2015 season. Winning U23 races, finishing top 5 among the pros. Nice project! How did he perform? We realized we had to grow his engine, so we gave him a race-heavy program and a great workload. Even more important, we had to turn Tim into a real bike rider. He had often no idea about what he was doing. So it was a matter of pure development and a challenge for our staff. His problem on the…continue reading →

Who? Named ‘Hui’ for friends, teammates and staff. Straight from China. Owner of some great tattoos. What about him? Together with Shimano, we scout the Asian market for talents. There is for sure a lot of talent there, but they need the right development (and patience) to make it to the European pro scene. We are convinced it’s possible, but only when we are able to work with the Asian riders from a young age. The more we can teach them at an early stage, the better. Zhihui Jiang was one of the…continue reading →

Who? Dutch rider from Enter, a place in the East of the Netherlands. Born in 1992. What about him? Great guy! He was a fantastic ITT talent, but much more than that: fast, strong and with a great work ethic. Not everyone could work with him from the start. It took time, but when he opened up everyone loved having him in the team. Steven arrived at the Academy as Dutch ITT Champion U23 and with a traineeship at Giant-Alpecin under his belt. How did he perform? The goal we had was clear:…continue reading →

Who? Born December 2, 1993 in Ulft, he arrived at the Academy as a fourth year U23 rider without specialty What about him? Koen is a fantastic character; positive, happy and loyal; the perfect teammate. His ticket to pro level was a result of his consistency. We knew he could climb! How did he perform? He developed as we like it the most: progressively. First in the shadow of Alex Peters, but then he came out at the moment we expected, delivering very solid performances from Tour de Normandie until Tour de Alsace.…continue reading →

Who? A London Hattney-raised talented bike rider, Alex arrived as a third year U23, leaving the UK to become a real cyclist. What about him? Very good kid, on and off the bike; so friendly, so happy and loyal; but also struggling with himself on many occasions. Physically? One of the best talents in the history of British cycling. How did he perform? He was impressive, a huge talent. At his first race of the season, Tour de Normandie, he played with his opponents without knowing. He lost the race because of a…continue reading →

Who? Jasper Bovenhuis. Dutch and one of the first members of the Academy. He was one of the few not U23 riders on the team, arriving as second-year elite cyclist. What about him? Jasper had spent some time at Rabobank U23, changed teams, lost faith and was ready to pick up his former sport (speed skating) again. He lost any hope but we saw something in him despite his age. We focused on specific roles within the team and he became our captain. From then on, he could develop with the right focus.…continue reading →