No more Fem van Empel in cross country for the time being, her contract with Visma-Lease a Bike was even terminated by mutual agreement. Mental issues reared their heads, something we also saw with Simon Yates. Is there a problem with the Dutch team?
READ ALSO:
Visma-LaB makes Dutch hearts bleed again
Visma protects mental health
That is certainly not the case according to CEO Richard Plugge. He emphasizes to HLN that Visma even makes every effort to prevent such things. “These are three different cases, but we pay a lot of attention to the mental aspect that comes with top sport.”
“We are one of the first teams to also bring the family to training camps, so that the riders have their relatives with them. That seems to work well, but in some cases something else is needed,” says Plugge.
Previously, there was also Tom Dumoulin, who ended his career at an early age – and also due to oversaturation. Yet Wout van Aert also thinks that the cause of this does not lie with the team. “I don’t see any connection between the two. I have been with this team for seven years now and I am still very happy.”
Van Empel knocks on Vos’s door
As far as the ‘Van Empel case’ is concerned, Marianne Vos was able to resolve a number of issues. Apparently she came over for coffee. “Fem has knocked on my door a few times to ask how I look at certain things. She has to do what she feels best about. I don’t know whether she will return. We have to wait and see,” Vos reveals.
Even for the all-rounder called Vos, it was not always easy, especially at the beginning of her career: “It has been a learning process for me to deal with everything that comes your way as a top athlete.”
“As a young rider, all I wanted to do was cycle, but you are suddenly the center of attention. Everyone wants something and expects everything from you. It is not easy to have to deal with everything from one day to the next,” she concludes.
