the dirk demol interview, part 1

by Cathy Mehl

DS Dirk Demol specializes in the one-day Spring Classics and guides the Team Astana sprinters through the early season.  He knows all about what it takes to win big races with his 1988 Paris-Roubaix win sitting proudly at the top of his palmares. This interview was conducted on February 9th in Santa Rosa at team training camp.

Dirk, it’s great to see you back on a Johan Bruyneel team.  Can you tell us how it came about that you left Quick Step to come to Team Astana?

We have an eight year history with each other:  US Postal Service and Discovery Channel, so many Tours de France….then after Lance retired we had (Alberto) Contador.  But when the team owners decided that the team was to be no more, we were all disappointed and wondered where we should go?  We knew it would never be the same; we’d had such a good group together, it was a real family.  During this time I was of course still in contact with Johan and after a few weeks he told me about the opportunity with Team Astana and he offered for me to go with him.  At first I thought it sounded good for me.  But I was worried about Astana at that point.  There had been a lot of problems with the team and around the same moment I started getting some other offers.  It came to my mind that since my time with American teams was done that I really wanted to work for a Belgian team, a big Belgian team with big riders.  I wanted that.  And the offer came from Quick Step to go work for them.  It was only a one-year offer because they weren’t sure if the team sponsorship would extend after 2008.  So I thought about signing a three-year contract with Johan and Astana or a one-year deal with Quick Step.  A big factor was that Johan was offering me the head spot, that of first director, and I had to admit that I am more a person who wants to be in the field.  I didn’t want to do the paperwork, I didn’t want to have all of that responsibility.  I love going to the races, I love seeing the team spirit at work and being right in the middle of that.  I like to give good morale to the boys—that’s what I am better at.  So the more I thought about it I realized I could not take the job from Johan; I wouldn’t be happy, so I took the one-year with Quick Step.

But to be honest, at the very first training camp I realized that this team was nothing at all like what I was used to and that I was going to have a hard time fitting in.  It was so different.  But I thought I would give myself until after the Classics to adjust.  I knew I had been in Johan’s system for 8 years and I knew Quick Step had developed a system of their own that I was not part of.  I couldn’t relax though, I was nervous about all of it.  I was trying to be a good director and be sure the boys were feeling great….but I never relaxed.  It was a great team but I was always uncomfortable. I did keep reminding myself that it would take time and that things would change, but it never did.  Time went by and I still felt the same. 

Johan was very disappointed when I said no to him.  I knew this.  He took it personally and recently he told me it was the biggest disappointment of his career.  We would still talk, maybe once a week and in many ways it seemed like before.  Just before Amstel Gold he asked me if I was going to the race and I told him I was.  He asked to see me and I was happy to meet with him.  We started talking and that’s when he told me if I ever wanted to come back to his team that the door was always open for me.  That very day I started thinking about coming back and while I waited a little bit of time to make my final decision so I could enjoy some more time with the Quick Step boys, I knew then that I would leave. You see, Tom Boonen is a special rider to me.  I retired from riding in 1995, and then I worked 4 years with Johan, and Tom was one of my young riders.  I’ve known him since he was 16.  And Stijn Devolder was one of my guys….these are really great guys and part of the reason I did go to Quick Step in the first place. But in the end I found out it wasn’t for me.

Johan and Dirk discuss the day's plan

It’s great that the door was open for you to come back.  That had to make you feel good.

Yes, it gave me a good feeling. I knew there was a risk in me going to Quick Step in the first place and that perhaps Johan would not want me to work for him again, and when I saw how disappointed he was I thought maybe it would not work out for me in the future.  So when he said the door was open and that I could have a regular director job and not be the head guy, well I felt a tremendous sense of gratitude and I was very happy to know I could work for him again.

When you first arrived at the December training camp in Tenerife did you feel welcomed back?

Oh, it gave me such a good feeling.  The riders and staff were so happy to see me.  From the first moment I felt like I was home again.  Yes, there was one year in between, but it felt like just one moment had gone by.  And then of course Lance was there, too, and he said the same to me. Lance and I are both having a comeback!

Dirk, Lance and Johan. Photo courtesy Graham Watson

Of course Quick Step is a big Classics team and they always get important wins during the spring season.  That isn’t the case with Team Astana—it is not a huge objective for this team.  Do you have hopes that the Classics program with grow with this team?

Truthfully when I first started working with Johan I had hopes that this could happen, that a big Classics program would be in the works, but that was a dream.  Lance was the focus of those teams and he was able to win the Tour de France so there was no question about what type of team we were.  You have to decide if you are a team that will go for the one-day races or for stage races.  Only a few teams have successfully done both, like the old T-Mobile.  But I’ve learned so much from Johan.  I’ve learned to love the stage races and I love the tactics involved.  You have to plan ahead when you make your selection; you’re always planning two-to-three days ahead about when you will make your move.  One-day races are nothing like that.  The stage races are more like a puzzle where everything plays on top of the other things already in place.

Being so tuned in to the Classics yourself, who do you see on Team Astana that can truly contest some of these historic races?

One guy is Tomas Vaitkus.  He’s only 27 and I worked with him the last year of Discovery Channel.  He had several top 10 places.  If you manage to always be there in the final run, then your day will come.  It will happen and you will win.  Again, if I look at some of the other sprinting teams, on paper they look so strong.  But on the other hand Vaitkus and Gregy Rast—for them I see the Tour of Flanders as a possibility.  They know how to be there with these other guys. For the Classics we are certainly the underdogs, but we can be there.  We have guys that can and will be there and we might get a win some time.   I am hopeful.  I am focused on the Tour of Flanders: that can be the one race we can win.  And if you are focused there then you can be good at Paris-Roubaix. 

If I recall correctly you have a group of guys that are “your” guys for the year.

Right.  I have Rubiera, Noval, Paulinho, Rast, Murayev and Vaitkus; those are my six guys.

I’ve read many interviews you’ve given and you talk constantly about getting to the front of a race and being able to stay there.  How do you teach your riders to read the race correctly and to get into the right moves?

Again, you teach them that you can be there just like many other teams.  You try to teach team spirit and encourage them to ride for each other, creating a good group.  I know all of the parcours, so I can help them a lot from the car, I am able to coach them along the route.  It’s always good to be on the radio and telling them everything—every turn, every corner, narrow roads, take it easy, cross winds.  I talk to them all the time.  It helps them a lot.  They feel that we are behind them and not just driving the car.  I know many directors don’t talk on the radio and only give a briefing before the race, wish them good luck and that’s it.  That is not how we do it.  We talk and tell them what is coming, what to expect.  This is a good example of why some French directors are against using radios…because they don’t use it!  For us the directors take this responsibility.  Just like the riders have the responsibility to be ready to ride, we take the responsibility to help from the car.  It helps a lot, it gives them good motivation. We are always prepared; we are ready!

More to come in part 2!