Cervélo names Alberda as new managing director

Joop Alberda will be the new managing director of Cervélo TestTeam, the team announced Friday afternoon. The Dutchman will take over as of January 1, 2010. He replaces German Thomas Campana, whose future plans were not announced.

Alberda, 58, is a former athlete who “is considered one of the most renowned sports managers in the Netherlands,” said the team. He was coach of the Dutch men's volleyball team which won the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, “ an event that so galvanized the country that the Dutch consider it the top sports event of the previous century.”

“We're very excited that Joop will join the team,” said Cervélo co-founder Gerard Vroomen. “Having introduced innovations to many different sports as a coach and manager, and understanding that all of our goals are equally important, Joop will be able to bring ongoing innovation and success in all these areas, and we look forward to building the right structure to accomplish this with him.”

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Alberda served as technical director of the Dutch National Olympic Committee from 1997 to 2004, and under his leadership the Dutch team won a record 25 medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He has also worked with the national football team.

“I am honoured to have the opportunity to enter the world of cycling, one of the world's major sports,” he said. “I am inspired by the values of the team, the high potential of the riders and the incredible technological aspects of the products made by Cervélo and the TestTeam's technology partners.”