{"id":480093,"date":"2026-02-14T19:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T19:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/480093\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T19:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T19:30:11","slug":"new-coach-200-convinced-that-v8-engine-van-baarle-can-go-toe-to-toe-with-van-der-poel-and-pogacar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/480093\/","title":{"rendered":"New coach \u2018200% convinced\u2019 that \u2018V8 engine\u2019 Van Baarle can go toe-to-toe with Van der Poel and Pogacar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cCoaching is an art. Training is science,\u201d reads the social media<\/a> bio of Michel Geerinck. The Belgian has built a strong reputation in recent years as a trainer and coach in elite sport \u2014 including his work with Jasper Stuyven<\/a>. Last winter, Stuyven brought Geerinck with him to Soudal Quick-Step<\/a>, where the coach also took Dylan van Baarle<\/a> under his wing. IDLProcycling.com spoke at length with the man guiding The Wolfpack\u2019s new Classics tandem \u2014 and got answers to the key questions. <\/p>\n

Hi Michel, nice to meet you. Can you briefly explain who we\u2019re talking to here?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m someone who, after studying physical education, specialised in exercise physiology \u2014 specifically training and coaching cyclists. For about twenty years I ran a practice where we worked with athletes on a freelance basis, until last year when I got in touch with Soudal Quick-Step. We had a good conversation and eventually the question came: would I like to join the team? I officially started in October.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been Jasper Stuyven\u2019s coach for several years, but not as part of Lidl-Trek, his former team. How did that work?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had several riders in the peloton who had permission to work with an external coach. Jasper was one of them \u2014 and at Lidl-Trek that wasn\u2019t immediately a problem. Of course it\u2019s an added value for an athlete if someone is active within the team, so especially the communication between coaches and sports directors at Soudal Quick-Step is now going very well. That\u2019s why it was important for me to take this step, to use the possibilities within the team fully.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did you first get in touch with Jasper?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe called me himself back then because he was looking for a different coach. Through mutual contacts he\u2019d already heard a lot about me and we had some good conversations. In the end Jasper gave the green light. We started a year before his win at Milan\u2013San Remo (2021), so it\u2019s been a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jasper Stuyven flourished in recent years at Lidl-Trek, under Geerinck’s leadership.<\/p>\n

Relationship between Van Baarle and his new coach is very strong at Soudal Quick-Step<\/p>\n

With Dylan van Baarle you\u2019ve also got that other Classics powerhouse Soudal Quick-Step signed. How has the collaboration been in the first months?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat collaboration came about partly because over the years I\u2019ve built a lot of experience and knowledge around Classics preparation. My build-up for the spring Classics is very well developed, so it\u2019s an honour to work with a rider like Dylan. He\u2019s a very strong rider with a strong palmar\u00e8s.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our first conversations during the team days I was immediately surprised by him \u2014 I instantly felt we shared the same vision in terms of training and how to continue his career. That connection is super important; otherwise it\u2019s not easy to train someone. With Dylan it\u2019s going well and he\u2019s highly motivated, so hopefully we can turn it into results.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDylan is very professional and understands how his body functions. We want to combine his experience with my knowledge into a training structure that helps him return to the level of his very best years. He\u2019s very ambitious for the Classics, but also think of time trials and even general classifications in certain stage races.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your vision \u2014 the one that apparently matches Dylan\u2019s so well?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve mainly gone back through Dylan\u2019s history as a rider. Riders of that calibre \u2014 I like to call them V8 engines \u2014 need a lot of volume to function at their best. In recent years he didn\u2019t feel that was worked <\/a>out well for him. So we brought back big volumes at low intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, we\u2019ve also stimulated him with intensity so he can ride finales again. In modern cycling you need to handle the accelerations \u2014 or be able to anticipate them. When I explained my approach, Dylan said it matched the story of his best years very well. So we were up and running quickly, because we were on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Visma | Lease a Bike<\/a> there were a lot of setbacks \u2014 crashes and injuries \u2014 and Dylan often didn\u2019t reach his very best form. But he also said he didn\u2019t feel he could do things his way. Did you have to change a lot in his training?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there are any secrets left in cycling. Good riders have to train a lot \u2014 train volume, train intensity, have a well-balanced programme\u2026 My main feeling is that Dylan has regained some freedom again, also as a team leader. He can do things a bit more his way, and that\u2019s been a good \u0441\u0442\u0438\u043c\u0443\u043b. It also ties in directly with the vision that looks back to the past: the accents shift a little. And if results come from it, that\u2019s great \u2014 because otherwise, as a top athlete, you quickly start to doubt again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not more than that \u2014 it\u2019s not that we know things other teams don\u2019t. But if a rider feels mentally healthy and good, and you give him the freedom to do it a bit more the way he wants, you increase the chance of success. That\u2019s very much the working method with Dylan now again: a mix of training on the bike and alongside it. Those puzzle pieces are being put together again, by him and for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Dylan van Baarle in his new jersey from Soudal Quick-Step.<\/p>\n

Can Van Baarle follow Van der Poel and Pogacar?<\/p>\n

Even as an exercise scientist, do you still learn things when you suddenly get access to all of Dylan van Baarle\u2019s documentation?<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that much. The real secrets in elite sport aren\u2019t there, also because coaches are in contact with each other a lot. The main thing is finding the right road to Rome \u2014 because many roads lead there, but many don\u2019t. For rider X it might be better to train one hour longer, steadier and easier; for rider Y it can be one hour shorter at higher intensity. It depends on what best fits an athlete\u2019s profile.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDylan is an extreme endurance athlete and you have to respond to that. Add his role as a leader, and we can really go all-in. His own input is also worth gold. I learn more from his own view and what he feels good or bad with, than from an old training plan at INEOS or Visma. There are a lot of similarities there. It\u2019s the tiny details that bring worlds together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does the picture of Dylan van Baarle fit the person and athlete you\u2019re seeing now?<\/p>\n

\u201cI always watched him as a fan. I saw how well he can read races \u2014 and when you talk about that, you immediately notice he has huge knowledge of his body. He knows what he needs to perform at his very best. So I\u2019m not going to make him ten percent better \u2014 that\u2019s impossible at his level \u2014 but we can try to get back close to that peak period from the past. And it doesn\u2019t have to be more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soudal Quick-Step, like many teams, says Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel have to be beaten with strength in depth. But in your eyes, isn\u2019t a top-form Dylan van Baarle also a rider who can take them on one-on-one?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 200 percent convinced of that \u2014 but the strength of the team is that we\u2019ve put together an experienced Classics squad, with a young Paul Magnier behind that. Van der Poel and Pogacar are extreme athletes, so you really need a good plan to beat them. But don\u2019t give Van Baarle 20 seconds, because then he\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Dylan can be coached well and adds his experience\u2026 Physically, the tests have already shown he\u2019s back to his old top level. That\u2019s fantastic news for him and it gives him confidence. So if he can use all of that in the race, then something is possible. But of course we\u2019re watching Van der Poel and Pogacar with our mouths open too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right \u2014 and Van Baarle probably isn\u2019t going to ride those guys off his wheel. But like you say: if he has a gap, try bringing him back\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly. I\u2019m convinced he can get back to that level. And with the strength of the team \u2014 with Stuyven, Magnier and also a young Laurenz Rex (who I also coach) \u2014 the task will be to put as many riders as possible in the position to use their strengths. Give Dylan an advantage in a Classic and he\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Van Baarle in the jersey of Visma | Lease a Bike, the team he left after 2025.<\/p>\n

Van Baarle and Stuyven have grown closer<\/p>\n

How did you get Jasper Stuyven flying over the past few years?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he came to me, I felt he was a bit stuck. So we turned everything upside down and truly started from a clean slate. I was allowed to work out my full vision. In the first months, we did almost everything differently than he was used to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJasper was labelled as a top sprinter, but in my eyes he wasn\u2019t that at all. I wanted to increase his fatigue resistance, so he could handle finales better. And Jasper is super intelligent, so he also had to dare to attack more. He did that at Milan\u2013San Remo in 2021, and that win immediately built a lot of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see many similarities between Jasper and Dylan. But physically we tried to use Jasper\u2019s qualities to the fullest. Being half a climber \u2014 we dropped that idea. He had to focus fully on the Classics work, and he made that click. In recent years he\u2019s ridden strong springs.\u201d<\/p>\n

How is the relationship between Stuyven and Van Baarle?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually nice, because I consciously brought them into contact more. They\u2019ve been on altitude camp together and I think it can be a good tandem. I also felt that was my task, because they both live in Monaco \u2014 but they basically never trained together. They didn\u2019t have contact, partly because they rode for different teams. But now I see them growing closer. Then you\u2019re riding times two, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you find it strange they basically had no contact?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, because they both want the best and are really critical \u2014 of themselves and of the people they work with. I like that, because when we draw up a training plan, the first thing we do is consult: what do they think? There\u2019s room for adjustments, because I don\u2019t like an authoritarian schedule. For me, a training plan isn\u2019t a law book \u2014 it\u2019s a workbook. Their input is huge. In that sense, they\u2019re very similar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can Jasper in top form go as hard as Dylan this spring?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s slightly different. Dylan has more time trial capacity, which Jasper doesn\u2019t have. But they both have tactical insight, they know all the races inside out, and they\u2019re very professional and perfectionistic. They work extremely hard. Jasper, meanwhile, is a bit more explosive \u2014 that\u2019s why he\u2019s also a good lead-out. Two big engines who can ride finales in the big Monuments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it realistic to already talk about winning Monuments this spring?<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s hope so, but I\u2019d rather not make statements like that. You can\u2019t control everything, because anything can happen in this sport. The things we can control, we keep tight: training, nutrition, health and mental wellbeing. If that\u2019s all good, success can be the result \u2014 where or when, we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m not going to say now: Jasper will win Paris\u2013Roubaix and Dylan will win the Tour of Flanders. The riders feel good, so let the races come. We\u2019ve done what we needed to do \u2014 but they\u2019re still humans, not machines.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for Dylan specifically: after a few years with slightly less volume, can you make that up in one winter?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d be surprised how quickly riders with those qualities adapt. Muscles have memory and can switch back to a certain trigger quite quickly. It can be done in one winter \u2014 by doing what we need to do. We\u2019re at the level we want to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the programme you\u2019ve set for Van Baarle we see the Algarve and Opening Weekend, but unlike Stuyven, no Paris\u2013Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico after that. He\u2019s going to altitude in Andorra. Is that partly because of all the crashes he\u2019s had in races in recent years?<\/p>\n

\u201cRacing before Opening Weekend is important, but it\u2019s true that we discussed with the sports directors that after Opening Weekend he\u2019ll go to Andorra. It gives him, in my view, a bit more calm heading into the Flemish Classics. Planning-wise it fit \u2014 also with his own experiences of how he comes out of an altitude camp in terms of form. Let\u2019s hope it all falls into place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Program Dylan van Baarle – Soudal Quick-Step<\/p>\n

Tour of theAlgarve
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
High tour Andorra
Flemish spring<\/p>\n

Program Jasper Stuyven – Soudal Quick-Step<\/p>\n

Tour of theAlgarve
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
Paris-Nice
Flemish spring<\/p>\n