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DANNY STAM / SPORTS DIRECTOR
DANNY STAM, SPORTS DIRECTOR AND ARCHITECT OF
THE TEAM’S MANY SUCCESSES, HAS BEEN A TOWER OF
STRENGTH WITHIN THE BOELS-DOLMANS SQUAD FOR
THE LAST SIX YEARS. EVERY YEAR, DANNY STAM HAS
SUCCEEDED IN FORMING A STRONG ROAD RACING TEAM
THAT ACHIEVES APPEALING RESULTS. WHILE HIS EYE FOR
TALENT OBVIOUSLY HELPS, THE SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS
IS MAINLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO HIS ABILITY TO CREATE A
CLOSE-KNIT TEAM. A TEAM WHOSE MEMBERS WORK
HARD FOR EACH OTHER AND SACRIFICE PERSONAL
AMBITION WHENEVER NECESSARY. AND THERE IS NO
LACK OF MOTIVATION IN THE TEAM. “WE HAVE WINNERS
IN THE TEAM AND ASPIRE TO BE THE BEST. FURTHERMORE,
WE WANT TO MAINTAIN OUR LEADING POSITION.
THIS GOAL MOTIVATES US AS A TEAM YEAR AFTER YEAR.”
Stam can once again look back on a successful season full of highlights.
“The World Championships with Anna are still relatively fresh in
our minds, but I also look back with pride on our victories in the Ronde
van Drenthe, the Strade Bianche and the Amstel Gold Race. And I can
list many more as well, because you never get bored of winning.”
A few changes have been made to the Boels-Dolmans squad for the
new season. For example, Lizzie Deignan left the team last season
because of her pregnancy, Megan Guarnier has retired from professional
cycling and Anna Plichta has transferred to a different team.
So the team has been strengthened by the addition of Eva Buurman,
Jolien D’hoore, Katie Hall and Annika Langvad. It is now up to Stam
to fit these riders into the collective scheme of things. “The team’s
extremely strong base remains unchanged. Our new riders, Eva,
Jolien, Katie and Annika, respectively bring us a very promising
young rider, a fast ‘Classic’ specialist, a consistently strong climber
and an experienced mountain biker. I sincerely think that we are
actually stronger across the breadth of the team this year than we
were during the previous season.”
Stam wants to bring his team to a higher level again in 2019. That
not only applies to how the individual riders develop, but also to
the support staff. An extra sports direct and mechanic have been
added to the staff line-up for this year.
“Women’s cycling has developed incredibly fast worldwide in
recent years. More and more professional teams have emerged
and the standard of competition increases each year. All of which
I applaud of course. But if you want to continue to perform at the
highest level, you have to keep pace with these developments in
terms of management, medical care and support. Which explains
this choice.”
When asked to look ahead to 2019, Stam tempers expectations.
After all, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Even
if the team has achieved one high-profile victory after the other for
years on end. “In view of the successes of last year, I would be very
happy if we were to perform at the same level. Obviously, we want
to be back in the spring and compete in the Ardennes Classics. And
we have hopes of doing well with Katie in the Giro, if the course
offers suitable opportunities. Finally, I would like to see a number
of riders take a further step forward and progress to the next level.
One thing is certain: the team will once again adopt an open and
offensive riding style. This is the style that people expect of us and
it helps our riders perform to the best of their abilities. So I am very
much looking forward to the new season, together with all the
people who are of such indispensable importance, both behind the
scenes and in the spotlights.”
"NOBODY EVER TIRES
OF WINNING"