Michel Cornelisse joined the Academy structure in November as a sports director and talent coach. The former pro-rider already took the role as ‘guest’ sports director during the Ronde de l’Isard last May and the positive connection with the riders and staff led to talks about a more intensive cooperation. When he was presented with the chance of joining the Academy, Michel did  not take long to accept it. “I have a really good relationship with all the management staff of the team, and we have know each other for a while.  I really like how everything is organized and how the team is run, so when the possibility of joining the team came it was a quick decision” points out our new sports director.

Cornelisse, who has been working as a sports director for more than 10 season now, sets the bar high when it comes to the goals he hopes to achieve in the coming season. “I hope that we can win a lot of races, it is hard to top what the team did last year, but we will go for it and the guys are motivated and training very hard. I want to help the riders with their dream and help them to step up to the pro ranks like many already did within the Academy structure”. 

The experience and knowledge acquired during his long career on and off the bike will be a really valuable input for the young talents in the Academy roster. “I think that my experience can help the riders a lot. Not only as a professional rider (13 years) but also as a sports directs (10 seasons), I have done all the big races and Grand Tours. I believe that I can talk a lot with the riders and help them analyze every race and every rider from a different prospective. I can advice the riders about what they have to do better or just different, in order to reach not only their individual goals but also the team ones”.