Sven Vanthourenhout and Axel Merckx rumoured frontrunners for Belgian coaching job
06 November 2018 03:32
Axel Merckx and current Belgian cyclo-cross national team coach Sven Vanthourenhout may share the vacant national road coach role, according to reports in the Belgian press. Het Laatste Nieuws reported on their website on Monday that an arrangement may be made whereby Merckx would look after the pro riders and Vanthourenhout would take care of the amateur and younger riders. The available part-time role as national coach is essentially one of national selector, choosing the riders to represent the nation at road events such as the World or European Championships, and sharing the role might allow both Merckx and Vanthourenhout to continue in their other roles as boss of the Hagens Berman Axeon Pro Continental team in North America and as the national cyclo-cross coach, respectively.ADVERTISEMENT As reported last month, Axel Merckx had said he was "honoured" to be considered for the job, but had reportedly tried to assure the Belgian federation that he'd be capable of continuing to run Hagens Berman Axeon at the same time. Director of Belgian Cycling, Jos Smets, confirmed to Dutch website Wielerflits.nl in October that both Merckx and fellow former pro Peter Van Petegem were "two names on a list of 20" – a long list that may also have included former cyclo-cross pro Vanthourenhout. While talks are still ongoing, according to hln.be, Vanthourenhout would continue as the Belgian cyclo-cross coach while also coaching on the road, and would act as an assistant to Merckx when it came to the pro riders.
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