Was he, as a cyclist, an easy person towards team leaders? “I didn’t fall on my mouth and tell it like it is. I was never a follower, so you can be labeled as difficult.” After a rich career, Lars Boom (37) is now active as a team leader himself.
Cyclo-cross world champion, successful mountain biker, Dutch road and time trial champion and winner of a stage in the Tour de France, among other things. Lars can look back on a great career. In 2019, the Vlijmenaar retired as a professional and wanted to focus on gravel races. Due to the corona pandemic, it never happened.
“I am happy with how it turned out. After I quit, I took the time to look for something that suited me. That didn’t necessarily have to be cycling, but I thought it would be a shame if someone with so much experience was lost to the sport. At the women’s cycling team CCC-Liv I got the opportunity as a performance manager. There it was possible to make a close-knit group of the riders. More than half a year later, SD Worx knocked on the door. The combination of cross and road cycling was ideal.”
“We’re trying to get everything out of it.”
As a team leader, he has a wide range of tasks. “We try to get everything out of it during both competitions and training camps. The girls must above all continue to enjoy the sport, that is the basis. There is also room for personal contact. Together with team manager Danny Stam, we often cycle along during training sessions and we enter into conversation. That way we know what is going on and we can help.”
“I can be rude sometimes.”
Lars describes himself as ‘plain’ and someone who is always himself. The harsh words that sometimes fell when he was a rider are now almost impossible to hear. “We can be happy that there is also a woman sports director with Anna van der Breggen. He looks at certain things in a different way and can convey things in a softer way. As a team leader, I now think longer about how I can convey things, because I can be rude sometimes.”
In the coming years he sees plenty of opportunities to develop further as a team leader. “I am still young and I have a good teacher in Danny. Working with female cyclists, the tactical plans and sparring with colleagues: it suits me. I have so much experience, passion and love for this sport that I want to continue working there for a long time.”
“If it rains, I stay home.”
He doesn’t get on the bike much anymore. “During cycling rounds I take my own bike with me and there is time to ride a lap. At home it hardly happens. I still like it, but if it rains, for example, I stay home. I do go to the gym regularly and have been practicing jiu-jitsu for a few years now. I have the blue belt and find it super fun to do.”
On Monday, from 12.30 pm, the ‘Day after the Tour’ criterion will be held in Boxmeer. Well-known names from the Tour peloton can then be admired. Click here for it program.