{"id":27413,"title":"Servais Knaven: Man with a Mission","description":"Not content with winning one of cycling's greatest races and managing six Tour de France wins, Paris-Roubaix victor Servais Knaven has a new mission.\nAfter seventeen years as a successful professional cyclist and over ten years as a Sports Director for teams Sky and Ineos, you\u2019d think Servais Knaven would be ready to put his feet up. But it seems not.\n\nHe says he\u2019s busier than ever, now that he\u2019s part of the AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step women's team that he runs with his wife Natascha. \nWe sat down with Servais to discover more about his new role, the team\u2019s mission, how the sport has changed since he retired as a rider and why races are faster than ever.","content":"

Published in<\/strong>: COBBLES & CLASSICS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Not content with winning one of cycling's greatest races and managing six Tour de France wins, Paris-Roubaix victor Servais Knaven has a new mission.<\/p>

\"ImageAfter seventeen years as a successful professional cyclist and over ten years as a Sports Director for teams Sky and Ineos, you\u2019d think Servais Knaven would be ready to put his feet up. But it seems not.<\/p>

He says he\u2019s busier than ever, now that he\u2019s part of the AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step women's team that he runs with his wife Natascha.<\/p>

We sat down with Servais to discover more about his new role, the team\u2019s mission, how the sport has changed since he retired as a rider, the future of women\u2019s racing and why races are faster than ever.<\/p>

Servais Knaven\u2019s career<\/h2>

Professional rider<\/h3>

But first, let\u2019s recap on Servais\u2019s career as a professional cyclist. The highlight of his long journey from joining TVM-Bison Kit as a stagiaire in 1993 through to a final season in 2010 with Milram, was victory at the 2001 Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>

\"ImageServais Knaven rides the 2004 Tour de France. Image: bryan<\/a><\/p>

Leading home his Domo-Farm Frites teammate Johan Museeuw, Servais joined a band of very select cyclists who have conquered one of cycling\u2019s five monuments. It was an epic edition that required the local fire brigade to pump out the worst of the flooded cobbles.<\/p>

\u201cthe worst conditions I've ever seen.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

J-F Pescheux of the organising Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 du Tour de France described it as \u201cthe worst conditions I've ever seen.\u201d After a race of drama and crashes, thirty-year-old Knaven finished half a minute clear of Museeuw.<\/p>

A man for the classics rather than a Grand Tour contender, his other major triumphs were the 1998 Scheldeprijs and a solo win at Bordeaux to win a stage of the 2003 Tour de France.<\/p>

Sports Director at Team Sky<\/h3>

Servais\u2019s career as a Sports Director began with Milram, where he\u2019d just ended his time as a rider. When Milram, a German dairy company, pulled out of sponsoring the team, he was out of a job.<\/p>

Servais had talks with a handful of teams but it was the final one that interested him the most. Within a few days of his initial discussion with Sean Yates and Dave Brailsford, he was working for the brand-new Team Sky.<\/p>

\u201can unproven team in its first year\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

But why Team Sky? Surely it was a risk to sign for an unproven team in its first year. Their aim, they announced, was to win the Tour de France with a British rider within five years. A statement that was met, outside of the team, with a mixture of amusement, surprise and derision.<\/p>

\"Gifts<\/a>Servais explained that as a rider, he\u2019d ridden with many teams and Sports Directors. He\u2019d experienced enough to know that he wanted to do things differently. As Dave Brailsford and Sean Yates explained their plans for the new team and its operating model, he could see that a real opportunity existed.<\/p>

\"ImageServais is now the Sports & Technical Manager for AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step. Image: helene_cyclingpix<\/a><\/p>

They too wanted to create a completely professional environment and a new structure that relied on expertise rather than tradition.<\/p>

It was a young team, where like Servais, all of the Sports Directors were new in role and ex-riders. Collectively, they had the perfect conditions to forge a group like none they\u2019d known before.<\/p>

But what does a Sports Director do?<\/h3>

So what exactly does a Sports Director do? Servais agrees that the titles Sports Director, Sporting Director and Directeur Sportif don\u2019t really describe the role adequately.<\/p>

\u201cit might appear that all the Sports Director does is drive a car<\/p><\/blockquote>

To spectators, it might appear that all the Sports Director does is drive a car, shout into the radio and occasionally help the mechanic. Apparently, there\u2019s more to it than that. Servais outlined his role at Team Sky and whilst it varies from team to team the basic concepts are the same.<\/p>

Principally, the purpose of the role is to direct the riders to ensure the tactics for the race are followed. This sounds quite simple but has become increasingly complicated as more parties are involved in the decision-making process.<\/p>

The tactics for a race aren\u2019t just created on the day, although they may have to be altered as circumstances change. They evolve from the winter planning sessions when the team sets its goals for the year.<\/p>

This determines the selection of riders and team personnel and consequently, their training programmes, the logistical arrangements and every aspect of the sports side of a team. It\u2019s a constant process of communication with colleagues such as the riders, coaches and mechanics.<\/p>

As a race approaches, the Sports Director will contact the riders, ensure they are clear about their individual roles and on race day brief the riders collectively through a presentation.<\/p>

Business like<\/h3>

At Team Sky, the whole process of being a Sports Director was documented so that anyone new to the role would be able to follow the same procedures.<\/p>

\u201cseat of the pants\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

The concept that cycling teams are increasingly run like businesses with their strategic aims, documentation and succession plans is one that comes up a number of times during the interview. It seems the days of the \u201cseat of the pants\u201d and ad-hoc management of cycling teams are a thing of the past.<\/p>

What makes a good Sports Director?<\/h3>

Twenty-five years ago, shouting at riders to motivate them was considered perfectly normal and reasonable. Nowadays, workplace bullying is quite rightly considered not only wrong but empirically proven to be ineffective.<\/p>

\"Image2023 Presentation of the AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step team. Image: Bernard Moerman Flandrien Hotel<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Servais believes that getting the best out of riders and staff members depends upon treating them with honesty and respect and getting to know and understand each one as an individual. He often thinks about how he'd have felt and reacted when he was a rider.<\/p>

\u201chated hearing information through his earpiece\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

For example, he personally hated hearing information through his earpiece as he struggled up a long mountain climb. It wouldn\u2019t help him to know how far ahead or behind he might be.<\/p>

But Chris Froome liked a constant stream of information as he climbed. Of course, a difficulty is that broadcasts from the Sports Director go to all their riders, whether relevant to them or not.<\/p>

Occasionally, he\u2019ll have to give a rider some news or feedback that is likely to upset them. It\u2019s especially difficult when it\u2019s someone he\u2019s particularly close to but it\u2019s an important element of the role to make tough decisions.<\/p>

Training to be a Sports Director<\/h3>

Servais\u2019s experience as a rider was valuable but much of the role at Team Sky was new to him.<\/p>

One of the challenges for him was presenting the tactics to the riders and explaining each person\u2019s responsibility during the race. He had to appear confident in the plan, communicate it clearly and motivate them all.<\/p>

\u201cA difficult enough task in your own language\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

A difficult enough task in your own language of Dutch but in English, it\u2019s a formidable test. Team Sky brought in professional trainers to help and the new Sports Directors were coached by Rod Ellingworth the former coach for British Cycling\u2019s under-23 academy.<\/p>

\"ImageSuccess breeds success at AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step. Image: helene_cyclingpix<\/a><\/p>

It\u2019s another example of the team adopting a more commercial approach by employing external consultants in management skills.<\/p>

Grand Tours<\/h3>

Servais\u2019s first Grand Tours as a Sports Director were the 2011 Giro d\u2019Italia and the Tour de France in 2012. He and fellow Sports Director Nicholas \u201cNico\u201d Portal were both tutored by Sean Yates and Servais recognises how much he learnt from the former British professional.<\/p>

\u201cextremely nervous\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

By 2013, Sean Yates had left Team Sky and responsibility fell to Servais and Nico to lead the team at that year\u2019s Tour de France. Looking back Servais admits they were both extremely nervous as he had only one edition\u2019s experience as a Sports Director at Le Tour and Nico had none.<\/p>

On the other hand, Nico had experience riding for a race winner at the Tour de France when he rode as a domestique to the 2006 victor \u00d3scar Pereiro. Servais\u2019s partnership with Nico proved to be fruitful.<\/p>

Between them, they led Team Sky to six Tour de France triumphs. It was a happy time, tinged with sadness as Nicholas Portal died of a heart attack at the age of 40 in 2020.<\/p>

Race tactics<\/h3>

We\u2019d already touched upon tactics but I was keen to uncover more about this \u201cdark art\u201d. Servais had already explained that tactics for a race like the Tour de France would start to be developed in the winter.<\/p>

\"ImageRijden\u2019s good friend Bernard Moerman with some of the AG Insurance women\u2019s team. Image: Bernard Moerman Flandrien Hotel<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

He\u2019d also revealed that the way that tactics are developed for the Tour de France, at least at Team Sky, started from themselves. How were they going to win, or more specifically, what tactics make them most likely to win?<\/p>

As the year progresses, the tactics are refined, and meticulously planned until they are \u201crace ready\u201d.<\/p>

\u201cbest guess what other teams\u2019 tactics might be\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

For the classics, where it\u2019s much more unpredictable and many more riders have the possibility of winning, it\u2019s more a case of trying to best guess what other teams\u2019 tactics might be.<\/p>

\"Image<\/u><\/a>Having spent six years racing for Quick-Step, Servais has a good idea of the approach they might take. He could best guess what tactics they might employ. But they are just one team amongst many with potential classic winners.<\/p>

That's another clear distinction from the Tour de France where there are rarely more than two or three potential winners.<\/p>

AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step<\/h2>

2016 Olympics<\/h3>

For 2023, Servais started a new chapter in his life when he joined forces with his wife Natascha at the helm of the women\u2019s AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step team.<\/p>

The team was born from the NXTG women\u2019s team that he founded with Natascha. It had always been a hope they would one day work together for the team but it had never been an ambition for it to become an elite team.<\/p>

\u201c The 2016 Olympics inspired a new generation of children\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

But maybe it was inevitable even if its beginning was not obvious. The 2016 Olympics inspired a new generation of children in the Netherlands to take up cycle racing after the Dutch achieved two cycling gold medals through Anna van der Breggen and Elis Ligtlee.<\/p>

Where it all started<\/h3>

Together, as a response, Natascha and Servais organised a mini-Chaam criterium based upon the post-Tour criterium of Acht van Chaam. Each year, following the Tour de France a number of criteriums are organised in northern Europe to showcase the talents from that year\u2019s race.<\/p>

\"ImageServais (right) founded the original NXTG women\u2019s team with his wife Natascha Den Ouden (middle). Image: Rijden<\/p>

The first three positions in the criteriums are agreed upon before the race and riders are awarded start money based on their audience drawing power. The mini-Chaam, which Servais and Natascha still help to run is held on Koningsdag <\/em>(Netherland\u2019s King\u2019s Day - 27 April).<\/p>

The winners at the mini-Chaam get the chance to meet and ride a lap with the Tour de France stars at the Acht van Chaam in July.<\/p>

\u201ca magnate for cyclocross talent\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

The couple also began an annual cyclocross race for youngsters in Alphen. It\u2019s where the top Dutch cyclocross riders train every Wednesday during the season. It occurred to Natascha and Servais that whilst the woods and sand of Alphen was a magnate for cyclocross talent, no races were organised there.<\/p>

They\u2019ve been organising races at Alphen every October since. Servais and Natascha\u2019s four daughters were keener on cyclocross in their youth although they all now ride on the road for one of the three AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step teams.<\/p>

It was from these small beginnings that the initial junior team was established.<\/p>

Junior team<\/h3>

As their daughters grew, it seemed obvious to the husband and wife team to establish a junior team where their daughters could enjoy their cycling without undue pressure to perform.<\/p>

Natascha became increasingly involved in running the team. When their daughters started racing it became obvious to Natascha and Servais that the leap from junior to senior women was huge. Their response was to create an under-23 team which was the only UCI Continental women\u2019s team for under-23 riders.<\/p>

\u201cpotential conflict\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

Once the decision was made to add an elite team, it became inevitable that Servais would join full-time. It removed the potential conflict of interest if he\u2019d continued as a Sports Director for Team Ineos and his wife was running a team backed by rival Patrick Lefevre.<\/p>

Initially, it was difficult to attract sponsors as all the staff were volunteers and had no track record as an elite team. Once they secured the backing of Patrick Lefevere, it all developed quickly and they were able to sign riders and support staff.<\/p>

Busier than ever<\/h3>

Servais is now the Sports and Technical Manager for AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step. I suggested that he might be able to spend more time at home now but apparently, the reverse is true.<\/p>

As well as having responsibility for logistics, planning, riders\u2019 programmes, and managing relationships with sponsors and suppliers, he also manages the Sports Directors and helps them to define the tactical strategy.<\/p>

With a three-team structure and only two Sports Directors, he has to step into the gap if all three teams are racing on the same day.<\/p>

\"9glmmsv8wqef7eolophhkpb8oqnhygd9ktyvz4lgh0gy2ioc.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\"Servais is keen to see more aggressive riding in women\u2019s racing. Image: helene_cyclingpix<\/a><\/p>

It means that he\u2019s spending even more time away from home than he was with Team Ineos. On the plus side, the stage races are only a week long compared to four weeks away at the Tour de France so the pile of letters on the doormat when he returns is less.<\/p>

At least his daughters are more grown up now compared to when he was racing and working for Team Sky\/Ineos. The youngest, Fee Knaven is sixteen and rides for the under-19 team. With all four daughters riding on one of the teams, it means that he is not only a father to them but also a manager.<\/p>

\u201ca tricky scenario\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

It\u2019s a tricky scenario and not one they had ever planned for or expected. They manage this by maintaining a home and work boundary. As riders, his daughters call him Servais, as would the other riders, but at home he\u2019s Daddy.<\/p>

Team structure<\/h3>

The AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step team is actually three teams within one. At the peak is the elite team with a mixture of youth and experience. In the middle sits the under-23 team. And the base is provided by the under-19 team.<\/p>

Not only does this three-layer structure make them unique for an elite women\u2019s team, but Servais and Natascha have a clear goal. They want the team to become one of the best in the world with riders they\u2019ve developed themselves.<\/p>

The current elite team has sixteen riders, eight of whom came through from their under-23 team. The rest are more experienced riders, such as Ashleigh Moolman who has finished second in the Giro Rosa.<\/p>

\u201ctheir mission is clear\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

Their mission is clear and it\u2019s important to them that all of the riders and team personnel share the ambition and adhere to the same values. One reason for employing Ashleigh Moolman, as well as her experience at the top level of women\u2019s professional racing, was that she immediately \u201cbought into\u201d the team\u2019s ethos.<\/p>

The team is one of the few to have a clear philosophy and vision. Servais recalled that the Team Sky jersey incorporated a line. It was intended to represent the mission that everyone in the team was striving towards.<\/p>

Not, he stresses, that AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step is a \u201ccopy and paste\u201d of Team Sky. It\u2019s all part of that move to greater professionalism and business-like behaviour.<\/p>

The team tackles what is almost certainly their biggest sporting challenge this summer when they embark on the eight-stage Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. They\u2019re one of the seven UCI Continental teams that will take the start line in Clermont-Ferrand and take on the fifteen World Tour teams.<\/p>

Working with Soudal Quick-Step<\/h3>

The link with Patrick Lefevre was formalised in 2022 when the under-23 team was sponsored by Experza, a company the Belgian legend co-owns. The links with Patrick became even stronger when Soudal and Quick-Step, who sponsor Lefevre\u2019s World Tour men\u2019s team, came on board.<\/p>

I was keen to understand how the relationship with the notoriously outspoken Lefevere, and his Soudal Quick-Step men\u2019s team worked with the women\u2019s AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step.<\/p>

\u201cBeing as diplomatic as I could be\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

Being as diplomatic as I could be, I asked if Servais was concerned about some of the \u201cless than complimentary comments\u201d that Patrick had made in the past about women\u2019s cycling. The response was a laugh, that I took to read as \u201cWell, Patrick is Patrick\u201d.<\/p>

In 2021 Lefevre, when asked when he\u2019d start a women\u2019s team responded \u201cWhen there are enough good riders in Belgium.\u201d But Servais was quick to say that he\u2019s always found Patrick to be positive about the project and committed to it.<\/p>

I wondered if Lefevre might have a \u201chands-off\u201d involvement but this is not the case and he\u2019s becoming increasingly involved. Clearly, Patrick Lefevere\u2019s decided that he\u2019ll put in place the structure to make sure there are enough good Belgian women riders. The junior squad will focus on developing young Belgian talent.<\/p>

According to Servais, many journalists want Patrick Lefevre to sound more controversial than he actually is because it helps to sell papers and generate page clicks.<\/p>

But what about the relationship between the women\u2019s and men\u2019s teams? Again, the cooperation between the two is increasing. They already share Specialized as the frame supplier and most of the contracts are managed through the men\u2019s Soudal Quick-Step team.<\/p>

The two teams have started to share hotels such as on training camps and for Strade Bianche. Apparently, some of the younger girls were extremely shy meeting World Champions present and past Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe as well as other star riders.<\/p>

For the men, it was something quite new having girls join them for their training camps.<\/p>

How has racing changed?<\/h3>

It\u2019s over ten years since Servais hung up his racing bike but he\u2019s seen a lot of changes during that time most significantly in nutrition, aerodynamics, bikes and tyres. Overall, riders are leaner than they were ten years ago.<\/p>

\u201cconcerned about how lean some riders in the current peloton have become.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

Servais is actually concerned about how lean some riders in the current peloton have become. There are risks to their physical and mental health by achieving or striving for, extremely low levels of body fat. Having responsibility for young riders, including his own daughters, it\u2019s an issue that he\u2019s acutely aware of.<\/p>

With the advent of wind tunnels, riders have been able to perfect their positions to minimise aerodynamic drag. New clothing materials, frames and helmet designs have been developed to allow riders to travel faster for the same power output.<\/p>

Servais says that a typical professional\u2019s position on their bike is now radically different from ten years ago. He\u2019s obviously a fan of tubeless tyres as he points out their advantages in reduced rolling resistance.<\/p>

The end result is faster and faster racing which was exemplified by this and the previous year\u2019s editions of Paris-Roubaix being the fastest ever, although Peter Post\u2019s tailwind-assisted 1964 victory is still the fourth fastest.<\/p>

I wondered whether the increasing emphasis on technology and the cost of, for example, wind tunnel time will create two levels in cycling between the wealthy World Tour and Pro-Conti and Continental teams.<\/p>

Servais sees this as less of a problem in men\u2019s cycling compared to women\u2019s where the disparity can be stark. It\u2019s not at all uncommon for girls who are still attending school to line up against well-paid professionals.<\/p>

It\u2019s certainly noticeable at stage races where club teams often don\u2019t have time trial bikes and just ride road bikes with clip-on tri-bars.<\/p>

Not being afraid to lose<\/h3>

Whilst the gap between men's and women\u2019s racing in terms of training and nutrition has closed rapidly, Servais believes that tactics in the women\u2019s peloton are evolving more slowly. Too often, he feels, riders are failing to grasp the initiative.<\/p>

He cites the recent dramatic edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes as an example. For a long time, the group of favourites hovered tantalisingly close behind the breakaway.<\/p>

A crash delayed them further and ultimately it was the unheralded Alison Jackson who outsprinted the break to emerge victorious. None of the pursuing favourites took a risk and so they all lost.<\/p>

With all of the previous talk about mission statements, documentation and operating cycling teams in a more business-like manner, it was refreshing to hear Servais\u2019s views about tactics and what makes for good racing.<\/p>

\u201c you\u2019ve always got to be prepared to lose to win\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

He enjoys seeing riders really race, taking tactical risks and being prepared to lose. Not that Servais endorses tactical stupidity, but as Irish cycling legend Sean Kelly said, you\u2019ve always got to be prepared to lose to win.<\/p>

Servais recalls his own victory at Paris-Roubaix. If he hadn\u2019t attacked when he did, he probably wouldn\u2019t have won. He becomes enthused as he reminisces about Tom Boonen throwing away the tactical handbook and attacking with over 50 kilometres left in Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>

\"orvixbyixsfg3jpl4dgtyrcg4rohgrldt2fdwre7d3ymvvvk.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\"<\/u><\/a>When Team Sky was dominant, although it was a great pleasure for him to be part of the winning team, he found the actual racing somewhat boring. Servais has found the last few years of Le Tour much more exciting with close and daring racing.<\/p>

Servais believes that as more former professional men take up roles in women\u2019s teams then their knowledge of tactics and experience will act as a catalyst to close the tactical gap to men\u2019s racing.<\/p>

Annoying<\/h3>

One thing that annoys Servais is people sharing social media clips that casts women\u2019s cycling in a poor light. Typically, it\u2019s women crashing but he provided a recent example of a video clip of World Champion Annemiek van Vleuten missing three bottle feeds.<\/p>

\u201cplenty of stupid crashes in men\u2019s races\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

He can\u2019t understand why people seem to delight in portraying women cyclists negatively. As Servais says, there are plenty of stupid crashes in men\u2019s races and these don\u2019t seem to get shared in the same way.<\/p>

Scouting riders<\/h3>

Natascha takes responsibility for scouting potential riders. For their ambitious plan to succeed, they need to pick the best talent from the junior ranks and then nurture them through to the elite team.<\/p>

But how do you pick the next Lotte Kopecky from amongst the increasing numbers of Belgian potentials? Servais explained it\u2019s not just about snapping up the proven winners at the age of fifteen. He returns to his theme of riders who race and are prepared to lose.<\/p>

\u201cdo they race or do they follow?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

A key ingredient is having the right attitude. Not only in training but do they race or do they follow? It\u2019s also important that they\u2019ll fit well with the team\u2019s culture and ethos. Power output is important but they take into consideration how much training riders are currently undertaking.<\/p>

If a girl is only training for eight hours a week alongside school work but still performing well in races then that suggests they have potential to improve.<\/p>

At such a young age, girls have yet to fully mature physically. Servais is conscious that, men\u2019s teams, are all looking for the \u201cnext Remco\u201d. Junior winners are snapped up and often given training plans that they are unable to cope with.<\/p>

They end up being overtrained, discarded and lost to cycling. The NXTG team that Natascha and Servais originally set up in 2018 has deliberately avoided this approach. Riders are given time to develop, continue their studies in parallel and not be unduly pressured to perform.<\/p>

I asked if the success of the elite team helps to motivate the under-23 and junior teams. Servais agreed but interestingly they\u2019ve found it works both ways. Success in the younger teams improves the overall morale of the entire squad.<\/p>

It will take time but Servais and Natascha are on track with their mission.<\/p>

Our sincere thanks to Servais for his time and to Natascha for helping to arrange the interview.<\/p>

16 May 2023, Tim Costello.<\/p>

Our thanks to helene_cyclingpix<\/strong><\/a> and Bernard Moreman of the Flandrien Hotel<\/strong><\/a> for the use of their images.<\/p>

The image of Servais at the 2004 Tour de France was taken by bryan <\/a>under licence <\/a>and the ownership and copyright remain theirs. The image was cropped to fit the page size.
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