Adrie van Diemen, coachDutch coach Adrie van Diemen will be following Paris-Nice very closely next week, hoping to see the results of his intense training efforts with Slipstream/Chipotle cyclists David Millar and Christian Vande Velde.

“After giving a presentation on my training approach at the Boulder event in November, David and Christian asked me to take on their training,” said Adrie, who was already training Dutch cyclists Martijn Maaskant and Huub Duyn and French cyclists Kilian Patour and Christophe Laurent. One of the top in the profession, Adrie has 25-years of experience that includes working with Vaughters, Greg Lemond, Danny Nelissen, and the Rabobank Cycling Teams.

Since November, Adrie has been working closely with the riders to make their training as personal as possible, relying on daily interaction with these motivated cyclists.

“I interact with David nearly every day on how things went, how he feels. That information allows me to adjust the plan accordingly and help him get more out of the structure,” he said. “The more and better feedback I have, the more I know about what is going on with a rider’s legs and head.”

Speaking to David, it is easy to understand that he and Adrie have a lot of confidence in each other. “Adrie for me is a coach who strikes the right balance between science and racing. He explains everything to me, but doesn’t bamboozle me with his knowledge,” said David. “I have enough faith in Adrie to know that I won’t understand all his reasoning, but that in order for him to make me a better cyclist, he needs to know everything I feel.”

Adrie believes Slipstream/Chipotle’s strong showing in Qatar and the overall success in California bode well for a good Paris-Nice, which ultimately spells a better shot at the Tour de France. This impressive start to the season was, after all, always planned!