Algemeen Staff Stories - trainer Sander Cordeel: "A win in a classics race with one of our riders is at the top of my bucket list."
Challenging, divers and fun. Those are the three words that Sander Cordeel, trainer within our team, uses to describe his job. Originally, he is a structural engineer. But as an ex-professional cyclist, he eventually decided to retrain as a sports coach after his career. Meanwhile, he has been with our team for about three years. "After my modest career as professional cyclist, I really wanted to remain active in cycling. The experience of racing, travelling and everything else made me switch to become a coach."
As a coach, Sander works closely with a team of various trainers, nutritionists, doctors and the University of Ghent to continuously look for ways to improve the team. His main task is to create training schedules for riders and carry out tests. In addition, he also supports the sports management in outlining the riders' programmes, preparing time trials, organising and supervising training camps, and he also takes on the responsibility of trust person for our riders. "The most enjoyable thing about my job is the variety it offers. But the puzzling in the programme to get the best possible team at the start, the challenge to find a match with the riders' preferences and the contact I have with them, is what I like most about my job."
The most extraordinary moment of Sander's career, so far, is undoubtedly the Vuelta two years ago. Andreas Kron then won a stage a few days after the passing of Development rider Tijl De Decker. "It was a super emotional moment because on one hand we had won a stage, but on the other hand we had just had to say goodbye to Tijl. Then you suddenly realise the relativity of such a victory compared to the lives of our riders. I was in the car at the time, and it was a wonderful moment to see that the team could still do something to honour him in that way."
He has already been able to tick a few things off his bucket list, such as Victor Campenaerts' victory in the Tour de France last year. Yet at the moment, a win in a classics race with one of our riders is at the top of his bucket list!
Picture: Brecht Steenhouwer
