Who can ride the road race at the European Championships? “This will be the hardest choice a national coach will ever have to make”

There may be foreign national coaches who are jealous of Sven Vanthornhout. Who wouldn’t want to work with so many great players?

Although some colleagues, on the other hand, would not want to be in Vanthornhout’s place at the next European Championship. A (relatively) flat tournament awaits us in Limburg and our country can choose a large number of candidates.

The subject was discussed this week at the Vuelta. Jos de Koer argued that Wout van Aert will sometimes save himself at the Vuelta when possible.

“Because I assume he will compete in the European Championships and the World Cup,” the former national coach said during our TV broadcast.

The World Cup road race doesn’t start until September 29, and Van Aert has already made it clear that he’s not giving himself too many chances in Zurich. But the European road race, on Sunday September 15, won’t leave Van Aert cold.

“I think he wants to be involved. And if he wants to lead there, I think Wout will be able to do that.”

We will find out on Tuesday how the Belgian puzzle is put together. But one thing is certain: even if Remco Evenepoel is fit (he only takes part in the time trial), the Belgians are fighting in every position.

“This will be the hardest choice Sven Vanthornhout will ever have to make,” De Cauwer predicts. “Everyone feels invited, especially on this route. 80 percent of Belgians who ride a bike think they have a place there.”

“Sven will have to choose with good conscience, but it will be more difficult to guarantee a good outcome.”

Our country will be targeted. A sprint is expected in Limburg and there will be a lot of Belgian players. Think Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier, Arnaud De Lee, Jordy Meeus.

“How do you get these guys together and how do you make sure you don’t leave frustrated riders behind? It’s definitely a luxury issue and Sven has built up mountains of credit in recent years.”

“In this regard, we could not have a better national coach. Contrary to what should happen in the Football Federation, I do not think there is a problem with the Cycling Federation regarding the evaluation of the national coach.”

As for the immediate future: Sven Vanthornhout’s contract is about to expire and the United Arab Emirates, among others, are pressing hard on his sleeve. “This question has been around for a while, not just this year,” says De Cauwer.

“I think Sven’s intention is to reach an agreement with the association, especially thanks to the riders he can now work with.”

“He loves being with this team. He made it himself. Not the riders, because they are made by the teams. But Sven turned it into a team.”

So such a team will also be needed during the European Championship. But the choice of national coach is often a delicate task. Just ask De Kooijer and his team about the 2005 World Cup finals in Madrid.

“According to my friend Patrick Lefevere, there weren’t enough blues on the streets at the time,” laughs De Kauer of the discussion at the time. Lefevere felt that too few members of Tom Boonen’s team had been selected and feared a clash with the Lotto riders present. “As a national coach you just have to make decisions in a situation like that.”

“We came from a period when, as a national coach, you had to take into account the political balance. I experienced the aftermath, but I drew the line myself. The Belgian champion always had to participate, regardless of the tournament.”

“I had already proven something in cycling, so I was able to move forward, otherwise it would have been a problem. I did what I could, yes.”

“I once felt like exploring the track, but it cost a lot of money. People said we also became world champions in Japan with Rudy Denens without exploring.”

“When I told one of the Bobos in the association that they shouldn’t participate in the championship, because they wouldn’t win the race themselves, that was a bridge too far, wasn’t it? But let’s just say we’re lucky right now to have a well-organized association.”