ProTeam Staff Stories - Osteopath David Thomson: "The first time Florian Vermeersch came back to my table after his crash earlier this year is something I'll never forget."

"This is my third year with the Lotto Dstny team. I was already Arnaud (De Lie)'s osteopath and I accompanied him in the team. Before working in cycling, I was a teacher at the International Academy of Osteopathy in Ghent for almost 10 years. I do 100 days of racing per season, and on top of that, I look after my patients at home".

"The most important thing in my job is to make sure that riders are as race-ready as possible, in the best possible way, that they feel good and recover well. After a race, it's important for a rider to be able to relax and find calm. In the peloton, they're stressed all day long, so I help to free and harmonize their bodies."

In the shadows

"Even if I prefer to be discrete and stay in the shadows, I love the moments of victory we share with the riders and staff. Like at Binche Chimay Binche last week, I was on the bus with a couple of colleagues and we saw Arnaud taking the win, moments like that are special. When one of our riders wins, it's always a great moment. Every department is important, we all do our best to aim for these victories and when it all comes together, it's magnificent."

"What I'll also remember from this year is the Belgian championship weekend with this great team victory, and above that it was the first time Florian (Vermeersch) came back to my table after his crash during the Vuelta Ciclista a la Region de Murcia earlier this year, that's something I'll never forget. It was very moving because I was with him in the ambulance just after the accident. Apart from that, there were a lot of victories and great moments with the team. The off season is almost there, but for me, the work at home continues. As Paris-Tours is my last race, I'll miss being on the road with my colleagues, but in January we'll all be at the training camp in Spain. And we still have two days of meetings with the team at the end of October, which is also a good time to get together before the winter period."

Pictures: Brecht Steenhouwer