{"id":43236,"date":"2018-06-14T13:32:18","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T11:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cruyffalumni.org\/johancruyffinstitute-2026\/live-slow-ride-fast-the-motto-of-a-coach-named-laurens-ten-dam\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T07:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T05:26:18","slug":"live-slow-ride-fast-the-motto-of-a-coach-named-laurens-ten-dam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johancruyffinstitute.cruyffalumni.org\/en\/the-magazine\/coaching\/live-slow-ride-fast-the-motto-of-a-coach-named-laurens-ten-dam\/","title":{"rendered":"“Live slow, ride fast”, the motto of a coach named Laurens Ten Dam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laurens ten Dam, a professional cyclist, wants to give cycling a new style of coaching, in which the pressure of competition does not at odds with knowing how to enjoy life<\/h2>\n

Laurens ten Dam<\/strong><\/a> has taken the essence of coaching to all facets of his life. The Dutchman will be one of those to complete his Master in Coaching<\/strong><\/a> degree from the Johan Cruyff Institute<\/strong><\/a> this year, which is something he had pending and decided to carry out when, at 35, his days in the peloton of the cycling elite are coming to an end. \u201cLive slow, ride fast” has always been his motto in life, the leitmotif that has accompanied him during his career as a professional athlete and the message he wants to continue transmitting to new generations.<\/p>\n

Laurens, who is admired by his teammates at Team Sunweb<\/a> for his charisma, enjoys a way of doing things that sets him apart from the rest. Cycling has always been characterized for being one of the toughest and most demanding sports not only physically, but also mentally. Endless stages, grueling mountain passes, many hours pedaling when the mind demands a little more and the body suffers, and very little recovery time. He says he has found a way to “bend the rules, without breaking the law”, which for him means not doing things as they have always been done, but because they work for you.<\/p>\n

\""LiveTen Dam, top 10 in the 2014 Tour de France, is preparing for his retirement and what a way to do it. He is the editor-in-chief of the magazine BicyclingNL<\/em>, he has his own events management company that organizes mountain bike trips<\/a> in which you can enjoy cycling and friends, and now he has a new challenge on the horizon: to work as a coach of elite cyclists “to help them better find the balance between managing pressure and enjoying this beautiful sport that is cycling, like when they started”. It has worked pretty well for him.<\/p>\n

On your team website it says: \u201cDuring his career,\u00a0Ten\u00a0Dam\u00a0has become a well-known figure to cycling fans due to his alternative way of living, his boundless commitment whenever he\u2019s on the bike and his complete pureness when he\u2019s off the bike\u201d. How do you describe yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would say\u00a0I\u2019m a guy who strives to get the best out of himself in all different ways.\u00a0So, on the bike,\u00a0I\u2019m really focused on performing really hard but, off the bike too, in my family life and with friends. I do things my way. I bend the rules, not the law. I\u00a0don\u2019t reject things\u00a0because\u00a0that\u2019s how we\u2019ve always done it. I find my own path, but still striving for the best possible result for me. For example, living in the\u00a0USA and racing in\u00a0Europe had never been done by a\u00a0European cyclist, but why not?\u00a0I could be the best dad possible and the best rider possible at the same time. I bent the rules, but not the law.<\/p>\n

What are your first memories of cycling?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Riding my strider bike next to the canal in Holland where we lived on a houseboat.<\/p>\n

If you weren\u2019t a cyclist, what would you have been?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would have travelled around a lot in my van.\u00a0With the kids, and enjoying\u00a0life as\u00a0I do now, having a good barbeque and a nice beer.\u00a0I\u2019d probably\u00a0be employed in the sports business, because that\u2019s my passion.<\/p>\n

What is the best lesson that cycling has given you in life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never break the law, but bend the rules. Do things your way and, if you do that, you can be proud of your\u00a0career.<\/p>\n

What is harder for you: to climb a mountain in the Tour de France or to make yourself a future in coaching?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Haha. Mountains are tough…<\/p>\n

\""Live<\/p>\n

Laurens ten Dam, leading the peloton * Photo: \u00a9 Cor Vos | Team Sunweb<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What does a good coach need to have, in your opinion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Commitment, 100%.\u00a0As a\u00a0coach you feel that. If there is no commitment, it isn\u2019t going to work.<\/p>\n

What motivates you now in your daily work as an almost-coach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m really proud to see improvement in my athletes\/colleagues. That makes my day. If\u00a0I make somebody do a\u00a0physical test after a hard block of training where\u00a0I have to encourage them a lot and it works out even better than expected, that makes my day.<\/p>\n

What will be your added value as a cycling coach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To give my athletes the balance between\u00a0living slow and\u00a0riding fast. It\u2019s easy in cycling to be too focused on small details. I have to protect the bigger picture and make sure my athletes still enjoy what they\u2019re doing while the pressure can be really high. That\u2019s always a challenge and\u00a0I\u2019ve been in those situations too.<\/p>\n

How do you see yourself in five years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I won\u2019t race myself anymore. I\u2019ll have a lot of great family time. I\u2019ll have a company that\u00a0organizes\u00a0gravel rides with camping, barbeques, beer, etc. But\u00a0I\u2019ll also top-level coach athletes and help them to manage the balance between the pressure and why they started this\u00a0beautiful sport in the first place.<\/p>\n

\n

MASTER IN<\/h3>\n

Coaching<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

This 7 month program is based on the vision of Johan Cruyff in which sport coaching is more than using tactical and technical knowledge. It is about yourself, the players & staff, the team and the environment. We believe that you can only coach others if you know how to coach yourself.<\/p>\n

<\/i>Sign up<\/a><\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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