European, World and Olympic champion, Sven Vanthourenhout’s record at the head of the national team is dizzying. While the Belgian technician is about to leave his post at the end of the World Championship in Zurich, the Belgian Federation is (slowly) starting its search for a replacement. What are the selection criteria? Technical director Frederik Broché draws up a list of qualities. “Sven’s strength is that he was a unifier and that’s what we need because we’re dealing with different types of athletes. You have to be strong tactically. It’s important to have a broad vision of your sport. It’s vital that he can understand the situation in other categories and take an interest in it.”In any case, the linguistic criterion will not be decisive. “It’s a less important element. Sven wasn’t so comfortable in French. But today, in the teams, we generally speak English.”. Furthermore, the door is not closed to a foreign coach but priority seems to be given to a local child.
SERGE PAUWELS AS YOUR FAVORITE?
The Federation is not against applying the same process that allowed Sven Vanthourenhout to take over the national team: he arrived as cyclo-cross coach. Then, he grew up in the wake of Kevin De Weert and Rik Verbrugghe before getting his chance as national coach. “Here you will certainly not find someone who can combine road and cross, certainly not in the Elite category. Sven has three positions that are individually not full-time jobs.”. As a reminder, the position of coach for the Elites is not a full-time job as such. Serge Pauwels, assistant to Sven Vanthourenhout and now coach of the Juniors, would therefore be a suitable candidate. Moreover, the main person concerned does not hide it and is eyeing Sven Vanthourenhout’s position. “He is one of the options that are on the table at the moment. We like the idea of developing talent like we did with Sven. We think he has learned a lot over time, but being a coach of the Elites is not an easy job.”.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR CYCLO-CROSS
Another name mentioned in the Flemish press is that of Greg Van Avermaet. “We took him on as an assistant coach for events. We do it because we consider it important to do it for former professionals. From there to making him a candidate… It’s the press that campaigns more than anything else“. For the moment, Frederik Broché is collecting applications but the priority is first to find a new coach for cyclo-cross because the European Championship arrives at the beginning of November, in six weeks.
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