In a chain, every link counts. Together they make the wheels go round.
My name is Tom Ryckaert.
I'm a sports physician, trained in sports medicine and sports psychology.
So why am I here? It's simple. For the last few years, I've been working to build up my own practise, specialized in sports. Me and my partners will be treating both amateurs and professional sportsmen.
Our practise has taken a major step this year and we have a few professional athletes under our wings. Football players, golfers, swimmers... A few of my clients are cyclists.
And that's why I'm here.
Doctor Who?
Like I said, my name is Tom Ryckaert.
I'm 34 years old, and I've always been passionate about sports. I wanted nothing more than to be a professional athlete. But when it became obvious I had more brains than brawn, I was drawn towards sports medicine.
I try not to become my job, and so I have a few hobbies besides sports medicine. This includes playing chess, playing the guitar and keeping myself fit by exercising daily, or at least a few times a week. Striving for that perfect balance between body and mind.
This year, I'll be treating a few professional cyclists. Our practise has an agreement with a World Tour team. We'll be working with several of their riders; training & treating.
File: Team Europcar
Team Europcar was on the brink of disaster. The results weren't satisfactory and the talent was finding its way to the top teams. A last injection of young talent, with riders like Coquard, didn't seem enough to save the team. In the end, there were only two options for Team Europcar at the end f 2014: disband, or expand.
Even more, so, Europcar invested a whole lot in scouting and brought in new talents. Dierickx, Dujardin, Lindhard, Gonzalez Avila... all made the jump to the professional cycling peloton.
Europcar seemed set for a new age.
It's been one year since Europcar's dramatic switcharound. They secured promotion to the World Tour and now it'll be up to them to confirm their uprising.
We're very proud to be working together with Team Europcar.
Our Clients
I'll be working more closely with several (young) riders. There are about ten riders with whom I'll be working, but only with two of them I'll be working as a personal trainer, mental coach and whatnot.
Next time, I'll go deeper into the specifics of these riders. Obviously, I can't release any patient-doctor confidential details, but after talking to the riders about it, I'll be keeping a journal about our progression together, our achievements.
Hope to see you around,
Tom Ryckaert
Edited by Ian Butler on 02-04-2016 18:25
Thanks guys Hope it won't let you down.
I think this is a format that could be good for me. This way I have team control, control over some specific riders but can approach them from another angle.
I also wanted to have a format where I can do a lot by simulation. I'll only play races I want to race or very important races. So there'll be screenshots, don't worry Edited by Ian Butler on 28-03-2016 19:33
Looks awesome Ian! Fantastic idea and as sutty said, you have my attention, not just because it's you but that post and premise is great!
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Ian Butler wrote:
This way I have team control, control over some specific riders but can approach them from another angel.
So is this sports doctor holy too?
Stop noticing all my typo's today
jandal7 wrote:
Looks awesome Ian! Fantastic idea and as sutty said, you have my attention, not just because it's you but that post and premise is great!
Shonak wrote:
The B in Butler stands for busy, amiright?
Well, we'll just have to stop ordering so much champagne, amiright?
No?
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
The 2015 season was very successful for Team Europcar. Their increase in budget and quality payed off. They surprised the world by taking the Belgian opening weekend, Stuyven took the Omloop, Coquard Kuurne. The were dubbed 'The Green Brigade' by Wuyts, a Sporza reporter. The name was derived from the Red Brigade, the Flandria team from Rik Van Looy back in the days. This because Europcar had 5 riders in the 14 men group riding the finale in the Omloop and having 4 riders in the group of 15 in Kuurne.
The season continued with Bardet podiuming in Paris - Nice. Danish neopro Lindhard debuted in Paris - Roubaix with a fifth place, after a clever late attack. He lasted until the velodrome and was overruled in the last 50 meters by an unchained Greg Van Avermaet and a sprinting group.
The Tour was Europcar's biggest disappointment. Bardet and Rolland battled for leadership and their rivalry took the upper hand. They finished 13th and 16th respectively.
Still, it was a top season, finishing the season as Continental Leader and 13th in the Team Rankings of the Superprestige. The promotion to WT for the upcoming season was only a matter of filling out the right forms.
And that's where we come in. Our practise, Chainring, will be working with Team Europcar more closely. We are very excited to be working with upcoming talents such as the Dane Niels Erik Lindhard. He's only 23 years old, debuted with a fifth place in Paris - Roubaix, 5th in Post Danmark Rundt as his biggest results.
Another talent is Diego Gonzalez Avilo, a 23 year old Spaniard. He's already being called the next Antonio Flecha. He can handle cobbles very well and has a nice time trial as well. He was 5th in the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen and won the Young Rider Jersey. As a neopro he was 11th in the Omloop.
But there are two riders who I'll be working very closely with. I've already started with them in August, informally. The Belgian 20-year old Arthur Dierickx and the French 22-year old Lucas Dujardin.
NAME: Lucas Dujardin NATIONALITY: French DATE OF BIRTH: 12/08/1993
SHORT BIO: People who follow cycling will have heard the name of Lucas Dujardin. As a U23 rider, he came second in the prestigious Tour de l'Avenir, winning the tough mountain stage up the Galibier.
He joined the professional peloton with Team Europcar in 2015. Insiders had him pegged as the next French superstar, following Pinot and Bardet. Being a neopro isn't always that easy, though, especially not in France when everyone expects so much of you.
He took a mental blow. The rest of the season wasn't in line of the expectations anymore. A 13th spot in the USA Pro Challenge was not enough for the masses. In his debut year, he didn't win a race, and that's what the French wanted of him.
SHORT DESCRIPTION: Lucas is a very open man, easy to work with. The talent is there, we can see that. But we have to take it step by step. Lucas has to learn he has to grow wings before he can fly. The pressure isn't healthy for him, so we have to shield him from it.
Obviously, Lucas climbs very well, especially for a 22-year old. I'd like to work on all aspects of stage racing with him, though. Next season we'll be aiming to improve on all those aspects, rather than going for the big results immediately. We have time, despite what some people assume.
Lucas Dujardin in 2015
Lucas finishing 3rd on Col l'Ospedale in Crit. Int.
NAME: Arthur Dierickx NATIONALITY: Belgian DATE OF BIRTH: 27/02/1995
SHORT BIO: Arthur Dierickx was born into a family of farmers. He has worked on the farm since he was a little kid. With the farm based in the Flemish Ardennes, he is familiar with bad roads.
When Arthur needed a hobby, he decided to enter bicycle races. His first races were terrible, he rode full gas from the start and didn't even consider saving energy or riding tactically.
As a U23 rider, he made a name as a breakaway rider, as well as a loyal domestique. Only a few can ride a bike as hard and as long as Dierickx. A useful rider to have in a team, either to ride away or to work at the front for hours. He rides until his tank is empty, and then some.
He joined Team Europcar as a neopro in 2015. First he refused the offer, because he is supposed to take over the farm from his parents. They convinced him it is okay to pursue his own dreams.
His work ethic got rewarded early on, finishing 18th in the Omloop and 17th in Kuurne after making sure his team mates were set up to win the race. His strong performance got him in the selection for the Ronde and Roubaix, where he finished 49th and 25th.
Europcar wanted him on cobblestones, and his 4th place in 4 Jours de Dunkerque was another highlight for the young rider.
But Dierickx is more than that. He proved it in USA Pro Challenge. In the last stage, he jumped away from a 7-men breakaway and stayed ahead of the peloton to take his first professional victory.
SHORT DESCRIPTION: Arthur is a simple man, and that's meant as a compliment. He's a farm boy, in so many ways we don't see it a lot anymore these days. He's very honest and down to earth. But there's something difficult in working with him, as he usually downplays his talents and doesn't discuss feelings. As a mental coach, that can be frustrating.
Arthur is some sort of raw diamond, I believe. There's a lot of power inside of him, I want to bring it out. In the next few months, I want to put him on a time trial bike, see what it gives.
I think he'll be a very rewarding guy to work with. He's a friendly guy and he's got a lot of potential, I think we can achieve great things if we get it all right.
Arthur Dierickx in 2015
Arthur attacking in the Ronde
Arthur in the break of the day in his first Paris - Roubaix
Arthur leaving behind his companions in stage 8 of USA PC
Awesome to see the new-look Green Brigade doing well, and good to see young Lucas and especially Arthur doing well
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
jandal7 wrote:
Awesome to see the new-look Green Brigade doing well, and good to see young Lucas and especially Arthur doing well
Thanks, jandal! Yes it was a successful season but this season will only be better!
Europcar 2.0 has a lot of young talents, both in the cobbled and the climbing department (De Plus, Bardet, Dierickx, Lindhard, Coquard as a sprinter), along with some super riders who can do almost anything (Amador, De Gendt)
I want to find a nice balance in this story of reporting on the two main riders (Dierickx and Dujardin), reporting a bit wider on the other upcoming talents (Lindhard, Gonzalez Avila) and reporting on the exploits of the entire team & the world. Hope I'll succeed
As the new cycling season approaches, our workload gets increasingly heavy. Most riders have already have the blueprints of their season and we can work with that.
We were present at the Europcar training camp in Mallorca. There we had the opportunity to work with our climbers in the perfect environment. Especially De Plus looked very good out there, he should do quite good this season. He's still very young, but there's definitely something there.
I also discussed the upcoming season with both Lucas and Arthur.
NAME: Lucas Dujardin NATIONALITY: French DATE OF BIRTH: 12/08/1993
Besides these objectives, he wants to continue to grow. He's a good climber but I want to see what else is there. How does he survive three weeks of racing? Can he limit time loss in windy stages or against the time? These are all skills a stage racer needs to posses. Going fast up a mountain is only the start.
Lucas has high hopes for his debut Grand Tour, but his objective is to finish it. Anything more would be great, but not necessary. It took a while convincing him that finishing a Grand Tour at the age of 22 is a good start.
CONCLUSION: Lucas will have a heavy first half of the season, followed by an easier second part, where we can concentrate more on his training than actual racing. He'll have important tests in numerous WT races, including the Giro d'Italia.
NAME: Arthur Dierickx NATIONALITY: Belgian DATE OF BIRTH: 27/02/1995
SEASON OBJECTIVES: Domestique Belgian opening weekend, Ride DvV - E3 - GW - RvV - PR in succession, Stage top 10 Eneco Tour.
SEASON GOALS: It wasn't easy to pin some definite objectives on Arthur's season. The cobbled squad core is wide and strong in Team Europcar, so Arthur wants to make sure the right guys get in the position of winning. With some luck, he'll get a free role for some of the cobbled races and then we'll have to see where he ends up.
Arthur will ride his first WT stage race with Tour de Romandie, we have no idea what that'll give, but we know Arthur is more than just cobblestones. There's no pressure, but there's hope.
His second season part starts in Eneco Tour, where he hopes to make in impact in the race, followed by the later season classics, where he'll try to set up Coquard for the win in Plouay and Hamburg. The World Championships in Doha could be interesting. Arthur could be a strong domestique for the Belgian sprinters. Maybe the national coach can see his potential in time, too.
Besides the racing itself, I'm looking forward to work with Arthur this season and see his progress. Like I said, I want to put him on a time trial bike more often and see what happens. He has a lot of power, so it'd be good if he can make the breakaway of the day whenever he wants. The team should use him to his strenghts.
CONCLUSION: Arthur will ride his second cobbled campaign. He'll turn 21 late February and he's already gaining invaluable experience. Maybe he can do better than his 25th place in Roubaix from last season.
We didn't put many specific numbers as his objectives, but I'll be waiting to see if he can crack the top 10 of a cobbled classic this season.
We're approaching March, already. Two months have passed in 2016. Team Europcar had a tough start in the World Tour. Last year, they were dominant in the PCT league and played on the surprise in the WT races, but now they're among the big boys and it's not easy.
Gautier opened his season with an 11th place in the Tour Down Under, just missing out on the first WT points for Europcar. Those WT points would've been important for the ordre of the team car in the races.
Luckily there was Coquard, who took 3 races and the points jersey in the Herald Sun Tour, not the biggest race but three wins nonetheless.
Belgian Opening Weekend
Exciting times, both for us and for the riders. The Belgian Opening Weekend is the unofficial real start of the European cycling season.
For Arthur, it's his second visit to the Omloop and Kuurne. Last season, we had the Green Brigade from Team Europcar, twice with Arthur present, finishing 18th and 17th.
RECENT HISTORY: I've done my best to get him fit for this race. He had a cold earlier this month, but nothing major to disrupt the build-up. His latest tests were the best he ever did, so physically he's completely ready.
In Etoile de Bessèges, he tested his legs in stage 5, going onto the attack. The peloton kept everything under control but at least we know Arthur is good!
Arthur in the Etoile de Bessèges
RACE GOALS: Arthur wants to ride hard for the team these two races, but given a chance arises, he'll go on to the attack. If Europcar can be strong in numbers again, maybe he could profit from that.
SPECIAL: Arthur turns 21 tomorrow, on the day of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Maybe it can motivate him to give it a little extra.
. And I'm sure a first...
