Camiel grew up watching the Grand Tours as a kid and eventually made the switch from cycling to racing his bike. A good choice, he raced on the national and continental level from 15 years old until the age of 26, before hanging his competitive wheels up.
Gaining a degree in Human Movement Sciences, Camiel worked for a private company as a trainer and coach, working with private individual clients but also providing his knowledge to team’s such as Novo Nordisk and Garmin, before ultimately joining Team DSM full-time.
“I like working together with the other trainers from the team. It’s a really good, and also fun, way of increasing your knowledge and understanding.”
Motivated by ensuring the race preparations he makes for the riders in training are as focused on the details as best as possible, Camiel also takes satisfaction from seeing the team’s riders improve and knowing that he has helped them do that.
Assessing his time with the team so far, Camiel has no stand-out moment that he’s proud of, but instead is proud to see the steps the riders are taking in their level on the bike, but also the advancement of the Trainer group and all of their improved knowledge and understanding. It’s something that he “wants to continue in the future” too, with the team getting better every day.