Laurens ten Dam launches new Dutch cyclocross team with two key riders
The cyclo-cross winter season came to an end last weekend in Oostmalle, but behind the scenes Laurens ten Dam has already been working on the next cyclo-cross season for some time. The former road pro and current national coach for women’s and gravel racing aims to enter the field next season with a Dutch cyclo-cross team. Ten Dam and his podcast co-host Stefan Bol will make this announcement soon.
Besides his duties as KNWU national coach for women’s and gravel racing, Ten Dam has had his successful Live Slow Ride Fast podcast for years. One of the series this winter was Dossier Cross, which featured guests like Joris Nieuwenhuis, Lars van der Haar, and Wout van Aert. In total, they recorded twelve episodes. Whether by chance or not, Ten Dam began this winter to build a Dutch cyclo-cross team from the ground up. The project is now in its final phase, and more details about the team’s form will be revealed soon.
In recent months, negotiations have taken place behind the scenes with several cross riders. Various sources have confided in WielerFlits that Mees Hendrikx and Ryan Kamp are the two key figures of the new team. Hendrikx announced last weekend that he will leave Heizomat-Cube. He had multiple offers on the table (including an extended stay with his current team alongside new recruit Nieuwenhuis), but he ultimately chooses Ten Dam’s new project. Ryan Kamp is coming over from Team Ekoï, which emerged last winter as a ‘bridge project.’
In the coming weeks, it will become clear what the team's name will be, which sponsors will join, and which bike the team will ride. On Instagram, Live Slow Ride Fast has called the project ‘Bomba,’ but it is not yet clear if this will be the team’s official name. Ten Dam’s ambition could provide a strong boost for Dutch cyclo-cross. At the highest level in cyclo-cross, almost only Belgian teams compete. The Dutch cyclo-cross development team Parkhotel-ZZPZR.nl-Orange Babies recently announced they are stopping due to a lack of sponsors.
