Seismic Shake up in the World of Dutch BMX Teams
The Dutch swap jerseys with all the complexity of the football transfer market …
Seismic Shake up in the World of Dutch BMX Teams
The Dutch swap jerseys with all the complexity of the football transfer market …
Yesterday we shared the news that Dutch National Team rider, Twan van Gendt was leaving the national set up and switching allegiances to Team Oegema TVE and new coach Martijn Jaspers. Well it turns out that was only part of the story … Niels Bensink has also left the Dutch National set up and moved over to Team Oegema TVE with Twan, presumably in the hope that both, along with Jaspers, are on a plane to Tokyo in 2020.
So now you’re probably thinking that Team Oegema TVE is packed full of riders … well you’d be wrong. While Twan and Niels where moving in one direction, Joris Harmsen, who has had an epic year at Team Oegema TVE, has just accepted an offer to move in the opposite direction … back across the road the Dutch National Squad in a game of musical chairs.
So, what about World number 1, Laura Smulders and her sister, World Number 2, Merel Smulders? Well, they’re on the move too … back to the Dutch National set-up in Papendal … well, kind of, in a roundabout sort of way. The two sisters along with Ian van Heugten, Stef van Doren and Wouter Segers will now be part of the new (or old, depending on who you ask) Team TVE Sport which will be more closely integrated with the National Team than with the previous Team Oegema TVE.
The new Team TVE Sport, under the guidance of new coach, Ger Bongers, is designed to be a ‘more compact’ environment, with a focus on the ‘pro riders, especially in the direction of the games’ said the sister’s father, Frank Smulders. After an almost perfect season, Laura is also looking forward to the change ‘After a fantastic season, I’m glad that I’m going into the winter with a more compact team.’
But, the key benefit to the new Team TVE Sport and the Smulders sisters, especially with Olympic selection fast approaching, seems to be that re-integration with Papendal. Frank Smulders summed it up, ‘We remain our own entity, our own team, but we are looking for cooperation. The coaches and coaches of the national selection under the guidance of national coach Bas de Bever will do the track and race coaching, so Laura and Merel will be at Papendal more often. The facilities are perfect there. They still train a lot together in Wijchen, but will also regularly train with the other top Dutch riders … they only make each other stronger.’
Photos by Craig Dutton / BMX Mania
