The Cervélo TestTeam had an incredible debut season, winning stages in each of the Grand Tours that were highlighted by Thor Husovd's green jersey win over sprint king Mark Cavendish (Columbia-HTC) in the Tour de France. And while the riders for the team have stayed relatively intact, they have decided to bring Dutchman Joop Alberda on board to replace Managing Director Thomas Campana for next season.
"We're very excited that Joop will join the team," said Gerard Vroomen, co-founder of Cervélo. "The TestTeam has had a very successful first season, with both the men's and women's team exceeding our expectations by far. This applies not only to the racing, but also to their efforts in product development, fan access and hospitality, the TestTeam's other goals. From the start, our mission was to turn the TestTeam into a "best practices" project and learn from other sports as well, and Joop will bring a lot of experience in that regard. 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."
Alberda, who in his youth actively participated in soccer, volleyball and gymnastics, is one of the most renowned sports managers in the Netherlands and is well-regarded worldwide. The Frisian's unique, motivational coaching skills were the impetus behind the Dutch men's volleyball team's gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, an event that so galvanized the country that the Dutch consider it the top sports event of the previous century.
Following that success, Alberda accepted the call of the Dutch National Olympic Committee in 1997 and worked as technical director for the national organization until 2004. Under his leadership the Netherlands won a record 25 medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He continued his work as a general manager for the Russian national soccer team, supporting them in their qualification for the European Championships in 2008, where they reached the semi-finals. Currently Alberda is chairman of NLcoach, the organization for coaches in the Netherlands, and board member of &Samhoud.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to enter the world of cycling, one of the world's major sports," said Alberda. "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."