Verbrugghe: It's a great honour to be the Belgian national coach
09 November 2018 03:44
Belgian Cycling's new men's road coach, Rik Verbrugghe, described being given his new role as "a great honour" at a press conference held at the federation's headquarters in Forest, just outside Brussels, on Thursday. The former professional rider for teams such as Cofidis, Lotto and Quick-Step was announced as the new men's road coach by the Belgian cycling federation on Wednesday, and will take over the coaching of the elite and under-23 riders from December 1. He'll also continue as a sports director with WorldTour team Bahrain-Merida. "As a country, Belgium has always been a leader in the international cycling world," said Verbrugghe, "and that's why I see it as a great honour to be here as the head coach at Belgian Cycling."ADVERTISEMENT He'll be assisted in his role by current national cyclo-cross coach Sven Vanthourenhout, who will work principally with the U23 riders, but will be ready to lend a hand whenever Verbrugghe needs it. "I see this as a great opportunity to broaden my experience as a coach," Vanthourenhout, who attended the recent UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, where the Belgian men's team was led by outgoing national coach Kevin De Weert, told the press. "In Innsbruck, I could see that an extra coach is certainly not a luxury," he said, "and because Rik will still be quite busy in the coming months, I'm ready to help wherever necessary."
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