Recently retired Dutch pro Chantal van den Broek-Blaak is set for a return to the sport, joining the Dutch national federation (KNWU) as coach for the under-23 women's team ahead of the 2026 World and European Championships.
The appointment comes after the KNWU made significant cuts to their U23 programmes at the start of 2025, letting go of their U23 coach and cutting participation in the World Championships, European Championships and men's Tour de l'Avenir.
Van den Broek-Blaak retired at the start of 2025 after becoming pregnant with her second child, having already had one child and returned to racing. She finished her career with SD Worx-Protime, but instead of following in the footsteps of many recent retirees and stepping into a trade team car as DS, she is joining the national team.
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Over her long and distinguished career, the 36-year-old won races like the Tour of Flanders and Strade Bianche, and became world road race champion in Bergen in 2017. She represented the Netherlands in 11 elite Road World Championships and twice as a junior.
"Cycling has given me so much. I look forward to now giving something back to the sport and to the new generation of riders," she said in a KNWU press release.
"Early in my career, I was part of national selections for European and World Championships as a junior and later in the U23 category. Those experiences taught me a tremendous amount and formed the foundation for the rest of my career."
A specific U23 women's coach is a new role at the Dutch cycling federation, with a standalone women's U23 race only held at the World Championships for the first time in 2025 in Rwanda. Whilst the men previously has the U23 Nations Cup, there has never been a dedicated women's U23 racing series, and the main U23 race, the Tour de l'Avenir Femmes, has been cancelled for 2026.
KNWU itself made significant cuts to its U23 programme at the start of last year. Like some other teams, they did not send any male or female U23 athletes to the World Championships in Rwanda, focusing only on juniors and elites, and didn't field a team at the men's Tour de l'Avenir, though a Dutch squad did compete in the women's race.
Whilst Rwanda could have been put down to the high cost of travelling to Kigali, the departure of under-23 national coach Tom Veelers suggested a longer-term move away from their U23 programmes.
No new men's U23 coach has been officially announced since then, nor any confirmation of Dutch plans for the World Championships in Montréal. The Tour de l'Avenir is no longer a question, as it will be raced in trade teams from 2026 onwards.
However, with Van den Broek-Blaak's appointment, the federation appears to be at least reinvesting in the women's side of under-23 racing, appearing to confirm that they would send at least a women's U23 squad to the Worlds and Europeans this year, saying that "Van den Broek-Blaak will also act as coach for the Junior women, in close collaboration with Junior national coach Tom Leezer" at those events.
Despite the lack of dedicated racing at U23 level, the Netherlands has always produced strong female riders from a young age, including Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes, Shirin van Anrooij, and current junior world champion Megan Arens, though the nation is no longer the singular dominant force it once was.
In her new role, Van den Broek-Blaak will hope to help the Netherlands remain at the top of women's cycling through development of younger talents.
"In the U23 category, important steps are taken towards the absolute top. With my experience at major championships, I hope not only to help young talents progress athletically, but also to inspire them in their development as people and athletes," she said.
"During my career, I have experienced so much. From disappointments when I wasn't selected, to great victories and years of riding in support of a team leader. All those experiences have shaped me, both as a rider and as a person. That is precisely why I get so much energy from coaching and working with ambitious athletes. Building performance, development, and enjoyment in the sport together gives me enormous motivation."
