From domestique to sports director: Nathan Van Hooydonck takes the helm at Visma

The Visma Lease a Bike team has announced an important change in its sports structure. Nathan Van Hooydonck, a former cyclist of the team and linked to the organization since his retirement, has immediately taken on the role of Sporting Director and will lead the sports management of the Dutch team.

Nathan Van Hooydonck will lead the sports structure of Visma

The selection marks Van Hooydonck's return to the purely sports area of Visma Lease a Bike after having worked for the last two years in the team's business structure. At 30 years old, the Belgian takes on one of the most responsible positions in the formation.

Visma explains that in recent months it has reviewed what it currently needs from the position of Sporting Director. The search focused on finding a profile that combined knowledge of professional cycling, identification with the team's culture, and the ability to coordinate the different areas of an organization that has been increasing its degree of specialization. The chosen one has been Van Hooydonck.

His main task will be to lead the Sport Management Team (SMT) and define and oversee the major sports objectives of Visma Lease a Bike. He will also be responsible for preserving the vision, values, and culture of the team in decisions related to performance and competition in the long term.

RECOMENDADO

Brennan is unbeatable in the sprint: fifth La Vuelta victory and seventh for Visma

Fabio Jakobsen is now a rider for Visma: an immediate signing to relaunch his career

Gobik renews its winter gear with UNITY – Cold27

Europe has a problem with illegal e-bikes and manufacturers are calling for action now

“My form is very poor”: Pogačar opens up about his current condition

How photo-finish technology works and why bicycles look distorted

He will not work alone. The SMT also includes Marc Reef, Head of Competition; Mathieu Heijboer, Head of Performance; Robbert de Groot, Head of Development; Patrick Broe, Head of Strategy; and CEO Richard Plugge.

Therefore, it is a structure in which the different sports areas maintain specific responsibilities, while Van Hooydonck will act as the figure responsible for directing and connecting the whole.

The move also represents a new step in the reorganization initiated after the departure of Merijn Zeeman, who had been one of the key figures in the sports structure of Visma for years. Since 2025, that position had been occupied by the renowned swimming coach Jacco Verhaeren, although he never considered himself a direct replacement for Zeeman.

From key domestique to leading the sports project

Van Hooydonck knows the internal workings of the team very well. He raced for them between 2021 and 2023 and was part of some of their most important lineups in both the classics and the Tour de France.

His career as a professional cyclist ended abruptly due to heart problems, but his relationship with Visma continued. Since the end of September 2024, he has been part of the Business Team, a stage that the team now considers important to explain his selection.

According to Richard Plugge, those two years have allowed the Belgian to broaden his perspective beyond competition.

“Nathan is still young, but he has a huge desire to learn and feels completely connected to this team and what we want to achieve together. He not only knows our culture but acts in accordance with it and represents it”.

The CEO of Visma also highlights something he knows from his previous time as a rider: his competitive mentality.

“For years, I have also seen how determined he is to win and how much it means to him when we don’t succeed. As a former cyclist, he also has the credibility needed to have an opinion on the sport and express it”.

Plugge believes that his time in the business area has allowed him to better understand how the different parts of the organization relate, although he emphasizes that he will rely on the experience of leaders like Mathieu Heijboer within the new structure.

Van Hooydonck: “In the end, for me, it all comes down to one thing: winning”

For Van Hooydonck, the appointment means returning to the environment in which he was integrated as a rider, but now from a completely different position.

“It is very special to return to the sports part of the team. I was part of it as a rider and I know how much passion and ambition there is within this organization”.

The Belgian explains that his experience in the Business Team has allowed him to observe Visma from another perspective and better understand how the different areas relate. He also directly points to Richard Plugge as an important figure in his evolution since leaving professional cycling.

His goal at the head of the sports area, however, he summarizes much more simply: “In the end, for me, it all comes down to one thing: winning”.

Van Hooydonck believes that to achieve this, the entire organization must move in the same direction daily, questioning and demanding internally while keeping all the people involved in the project engaged.