Those in the cycling world are still actively debating the impact of the recent departure of two talents from Soudal, the Quick-Step development team. Cormac Nisbet and Gabriel Berg of the first-year Under-23s team cited “lack of a life outside of cycling” and “too much pressure to perform” among the many reasons for their decision.
It is no news that in recent years there has been a rapid professionalization of sponsors in the young category, and big teams have been looking for new Pogačar and Vinzigaard since almost kindergarten. In order to keep up with high-level sports, it has almost become necessary to train like a professional from a young age.
Long-time former pro Laurens ten Dam explains it in detail on his podcast “Live Slow, Ride Fast.'' “Cycling is becoming more extreme, but first of all, both Thomas and I were passionate about the sport and felt fully involved in it.”
“All I wanted was to be a professional. I don't know if they're cut out for the life of a top athlete, but it's true that there's more scrutiny at a younger age.”
Ten Dam provides an example of the more intense life of a cyclist. “I was training 20 hours a week, and some people were like, 'Maybe you should do that because otherwise you're going to burn out.'” But now people train a lot faster. There are studies that show that the more you do, the better it is for your Vo2Max. I didn't know that at the time. ”
There's more information about the rider in question. “Junior spends all winter in Spain. We just booked a weekend trip to Gulpen. We went there for a week. We trained hard for a week and thought we were doing well. The life of an athlete is It's become more extreme.''Young riders may feel uncomfortable, but that tenacity is necessary to excel as a top athlete. ”
That's a step too far, Ten Dam agrees. “I read an interview where Jutta Lierdam (speed skater, editor) said, “When I think about how much time I lost with friends and family, I don't think it was worth it at all.'' Maybe that's healthy. It may not be possible, but it is the opposite of the norm.”
