• Monday April 8, 2024 at 2:50 PM
Special Success Coach Merijn Zeeman goes to Visma | Lease a Bike for a new adventure at football club AZ Alkmaar. The 45-year-old sporting director is one of the founders of Visma |’s success Lease a Bike. Under his sporting leadership, the Dutch team grew from a loser in the WorldTour to the best team in the world. Who should succeed him? WielerFlits lists the options.
Mathieu Heijboer
In the press release in which Visma | Lease a Bike announced Zeeman’s departure, you could read between the lines that the team will initially look internally for his successor. Then you will soon end up at Mathieu Heijboer. The 42-year-old South Hollander was a professional for three years at the French Cofidis between 2006 and 2008, but then quit to work as a trainer for the Rabobank training team.
Zeeman and Heijboer on a service course in Dan Bosch – photo: Raymond Kerckhoffs
From 2014 he moved to the WorldTeam, which was then still called Belkin. First as a trainer/team leader, today Heijboer is Head of Performance and reports to Zeeman. The former time trial rider is already closely involved in sporting success in terms of aerodynamics, equipment and training. Due to his many years of service and direct collaboration with Zeeman, Heijboer can move internally to the position of sporting director.
Steven de Jongh
Someone from outside the team who can also take a step higher is Steven de Jongh (50). The former sprinter and classics rider rode for TVM-Farm Frites, Rabobank and Quick-Step during his career. After 2009 he ended his career and afterwards he immediately started working as a team leader at the then brand new Team Sky. He left there at the end of 2012 after making a doping confession, after Lance Armstrong was exposed as a doper.
De Jongh guided Contador to the Giro overall victory in 2015 – photo: Cor Vos
He then went to work at Tinkoff-Saxo. There, De Jongh worked closely with Alberto Contador, whom he guided as sports director to overall victories in the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. With the Spaniard, De Jongh moved to what is now Lidl-Trek. He is still there, nowadays as the first team leader. The North Hollander writes training schedules, coaches cyclists, makes selections and also devises competition strategies.
Servais Knaven
In 2012, De Jongh and Servais Knaven (53) worked together for one season at Team Sky. However, the former Paris-Roubaix winner then stayed with the British. Knaven subsequently experienced all the team’s major successes. After the unfortunate death of Nicolas Portal, the Dutchman increasingly emerged as the first team leader. He witnessed all the Tour de France victories of Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal up close.
Sports director Knaven and Van Baarle embrace each other after Paris-Roubaix 2022 – photo: Cor Vos
Knaven knows better than anyone how to prepare riders for the Tour and his own experience in the classics will also be covered in that area. In addition, since last year he has been leading his own women’s team AG Insurance-Soudal (until recently together with his wife Natascha) (WorldTour and U23 team). After his career as a rider, Knaven has gained experience in various areas that could be useful to him in this role.
Sven Kramer
Former top skater Sven Kramer (37) served on the management of Team Jumbo-Visma, the umbrella body of the cycling and skating team, for almost two years. Kramer was director of Business Development. Last winter there was a clear separation between these two flows, after the departure of sponsor Jumbo Supermarket. Kramer is now co-owner of the skating team, which glided across the ice as Jumbo-Visma last winter.
Skating legend Kramer is no stranger to the team – photo: Cor Vos
The multiple Olympic champion is responsible for the business part of the team. His first assignment with the skating team is to find a new main sponsor. His love for cycling has never been a secret, but is that enough for this role? As a background, Kramer relies on a CIOS education and twenty years of experience as a top athlete. On a sporting level, he has of course been watching co-team owner Jac Orie for a number of years.
Axel Merckx
The position of sporting director does not often become available in cycling. And if that happens at a top team like Visma | Lease a Bike, then a new person in that position should ideally know what it takes to succeed. Someone who could do that is Axel Merckx (51). The son of living legend Eddy has been the sporting director of Hagens Berman Axeon, his own team, for twelve years with great success. HBA is known in the peloton as a talent factory.
photo: Hagens Berman Axeon
Together with Koos Moerenhout, he has trained countless talents over the years and prepared them for the WorldTour. Until recently he lived in Canada, but now Merckx is back in Belgium. That makes it easier to join a European project. At the end of 2022, he was also the ideal candidate to be CEO of Lotto Dstny, but he turned down that position because there was a difference of opinion between the team management and him.
Koos Moerenhout
His name has just been mentioned, but Koos Moerenhout (50) could also fill this position. The former two-time Dutch champion is responsible for planning and logistics at Hagens Berman Axeon, in addition to his duties as team leader. Of course, he is also the national coach of the Dutch men, where he is responsible for the strategy in the race and he must be able to put together the right team at those few times of the year.
Koos Moerenhout before the World Cup in Glasgow – photo: Cor Vos
Until 2017, Moerenhout was also responsible for the successful women’s formation of Rabobank. His contract with the KNWU expires at the end of 2024. “I think I’m in a good place and I enjoy what I do. As soon as that is no longer the case, it is time to go,” he said at the end of 2023. With an Olympic title for the Netherlands, he has won everything there is to win. Is he ready for a new challenge?
Grisha Niermann
When Visma | If Lease a Bike looks for the solution internally, in addition to Heijboer’s name, that of Grischa Niermann (48) also appears. The German speaks perfect Dutch due to his years of work with the team. From 1998 to 2012 this was as a rider for Rabobank, then for a year as a team leader with the women’s team within the same structure and then as a team leader of the Rabobank training team until it was dissolved at the end of 2016.
Niermann (right) with Zeeman at the press conference for the Tour of Flanders 2024 – photo: Cor Vos
Niermann then switched to what is now Visma | Lease a Bike is. You can rightly say that he is part of the team’s furniture. As the first team leader, he has been closely involved in the top performances of the Dutch team for years, where he also takes on part of the scouting. Moving him forward to Zeeman’s position would be logical. Perhaps in a duo role with Heijboer, although you also have to shift to other positions.
Sven Vanthourenhout
Another option as Zeeman’s successor comes from Belgium. Sven Vanthourenhout (43) has been doing strong work at the Belgian association for many years. As national coach of the cyclo-cross and road cyclists, Vanthourenhout has an extensive range of tasks. He is responsible for selections, strategies and logistics, among other things. In addition, he must also be a real people manager in a country with many such top riders.
Sven Vanthourenhout with Wout van Aert before the 2023 World Cup – photo: Cor Vos
Just stand there: Remco Evenepoel, Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen. After all, everyone must be on the same page during championships. Not to mention the cross. Guiding this in the right direction is an underestimated quality that Zeeman also masters down to the last detail. All things that are useful for the former Belgian rider, which he can take with him in a possible transition to the world’s best team.
Jacco Verhaeren
At the end of 2023, Visma | Lease a Bike swimming coach Jacco Verhaeren (54) to the performance staff. Until the Olympic Games in Paris, the former supervisor of Pieter van den Hoogenband, Inge de Bruijn and Ranomi Kromowidjojo will fulfill the role of national coach of the French swimmers. The fact that a major swimming nation like France hires a foreign coach for the Games at home says a lot. He previously also did this for top swimming country Australia.
The way is then clear for Verhaeren to do more at Visma | Lease a Bike. “We are starting with a modest collaboration, which will hopefully lead to more in the future,” said Zeeman himself. “I want to get to know cycling better and will provide my input on performance processes and training,” said Verhaeren at the end of 2023. His know-how to make people better is indisputable. A swimming coach as a cycling boss? It just might be possible.
Aike Visbeek
A scientific approach to improving riders, trying to get the most out of a budget and convincing top talent to choose them with a good story. That is what Zeeman did for years at Visma | Lease a Bike, but it is also something that Aike Visbeek (47) has been doing at Intermarché-Wanty for the past few years as Head of Performance. The North Hollander joined Argos-Shimano in 2013 on the advice of the same Zeeman.
Visbeek sets out the lines at Intermarché-Wanty – photo: Cor Vos
The two previously worked together at the Zaanse amateur association DTS. They share the same vision and under Visbeek Tom Dumoulin won the Giro d’Italia in 2017. After leaving Team Sunweb due to a difference in vision, Visbeek headed SEG Racing Academy before starting his success formula at Intermarché-Wanty. There he makes riders visibly better. But does he give up ‘his’ baby for Visma | Lease a Bike?
This topic was also discussed in Thursday’s WielerFlits Podcast
