Developing the Next Generation of GC Riders

As the cycling world evolves, so does the quest for finding and developing the next generation of Grand Tour contenders. Behind the scenes Team dsm-firmenich PostNL, is also working hard to find young talents, develop them into WorldTour-riders through their Development program and shape them into world-class riders on and off the bike in their WorldTour programs. In this blog post, you can learn more about how this process looks for future GC talents.

Young and upcoming riders such as Max Poole and Oscar Onley started their journey with the team through the Development program, where the team could already get a good idea about their abilities, strengths and weaknesses on and off the bike.

“In our approach to talent development, we observe key differences among riders as they progress through their developmental phases,” shares Coach Steve Benton. “While certain physical parameters may become evident as riders transition out of their teenage years, it’s crucial not to rush categorizations.”

But still, there are certain qualities that riders need to become promising GC riders: “A successful GC rider in cycling needs a unique blend of qualities. They must possess a degree of explosivity relative to their body weight, essential for conquering climbs. Yet, their true skill lies in their ability to sustain prolonged efforts, whether launching attacks or defending against them. Endurance becomes crucial, as they navigate stage races and Grand Tours, relying on a high threshold to efficiently utilize energy reserves day after day. While the form may fluctuate, the defining quality remains their resilience to absorb and respond to relentless attacks, setting them apart from sprinters or classics specialists” Steve adds.

When a rider shows the potential to become a good GC rider, the performance team can tailor the training to shape his profile and prepare those riders for the challenges of stage racing as part of the GC group. One part of this is to work on the fatigue resistance of the riders.

Steve explains: “This can be done through different types of training sessions to force the body to recover and force that resistance to become more efficient. One of those sessions can be doing some intervals at the end of a long ride or can include some altitude training. But obviously, racing is also beneficial for the long-term development of the riders. With the right race program, even as a support rider, the body can slowly adapt to the challenges of riding a multi-day race.”

To become a good rider in those races, the time trial skills are also important. Especially at Grand Tours, this versatility is important to stay competitive throughout the race. That’s why we also put a lot of effort into making this at least not a weakness, but ideally a strength of all the riders of the GC group. That’s why we try to give them as much exposure as possible on their TT bikes but also optimize their biomechanics and aerodynamics with tests on the track and in the wind tunnel.

Now we have learned a lot about the training aspect of the development, but becoming a world-class athlete needs also work in races and off the bike.

Coach Matt Winston points out the mental challenges the young riders have to learn to deal with: “Next to their ability to climb and time trial on a high level, they also need to spend long periods away from home, but it’s also about developing their in-race skillset. How to deal with pressure, how to come into finals and race them as good as possible, how to approach a mountaintop finish or a time trial or deal with all the other challenges they might face.”

A good opportunity to work on all those topics is the GC camps, where the GC group is coming together to work on all those details on and off the bike. Experienced riders like Roman Bardet and Warren Barguil play important roles as mentors, offering invaluable guidance and support to emerging talents.

“They’re crucial to the development process,” Winston affirms. “Their experience provides a blueprint for success that young riders can learn from and the GC camps are a great place to share experiences and knowledge within that group. One of the main goals of those camps is to keep developing these young guys, making sure they have the skill sets they need and that’s the place where we can spend most of the time discussing these topics, so they can move forward.”

While all those riders might be big talents and capable of having success in the GC in the future, every rider is different and also develops differently. “It’s important not to take the same approach with every rider.  We take it step by step and we think about the race programs and what they’re ready for. We don’t want to rush people and everyone’s development is a step-by-step process. That’s why you also see guys on different programs, different, different pathways. Maybe one guy does two altitude camps in a year, while another guy maybe does none. It doesn’t mean that their potential is any less or anything like that. Just maybe just maybe not quite ready for it in that moment in time. So it’s important that we always look at the bigger picture” explains Matt Winston the differences in the process of each rider.

As you can see, it is a big puzzle to bring together to prepare young talents for the challenges of the biggest stage races of the calendar. Over the years, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL has brought over 20 riders from their Development program to the WorldTour, with promising GC talents amongst them. Guys like Oscar Onley and Max Poole in the Men’s program or Nienke Vinke and Francesca Barale in the Women’s program already showed their potential in some prestigious WorldTour races and delivered some impressive highlights for the team.

Nienke Vinke made her mark in the cycling world with a second place on Willunga Hill and in the general classification at the Tour Down Under, a tenth place in the GC at the Tour de Romandie Féminin, and a strong sixth place at the Giro dell’Emilia earlier this month. Francesca Barale also had a good showing during the Australian summer and played a key role as a support rider at the Giro d’Italia Donne and the Tour de France Femmes. Australia proved to be a successful venue for Oscar as well, who stormed to his first professional victory on Willunga Hill before unfortunately breaking his collarbone again for the second time in a short period. After yet another comeback and another broken collarbone, he delivered a strong performance at the Tour de Suisse, finishing eighth in the GC, before taking on his very first Tour de France this summer. A tenth place at the Tour de Pologne and a second place in the Tour of Britain confirmed the progress he made this year despite his setbacks. Max Poole also faced challenges with injury after crashing at Tirreno-Adriatico. He missed a significant part of the season but made an impressive return. After securing second place at the Vuelta a Burgos, he came close to victory multiple times at the Vuelta a España before finally claiming his first two professional wins at the Tour de Langkawi, where he won the queen stage and the overall classification!

In this article you could learn more about the process behind their development. We hope that you follow their next steps closely…we believe there is more to come!