Team LottoNL-Jumbo cycling and the Dutch Royal Army have come to an agreement today to share their knowledge and experience. To start the collaboration, the Dutch Royal Army’s ‘Red Berets’ are organizing a teambuilding for all riders and staff of the Dutch World Tour formation, between Wednesday the 25th and Friday the 27th of November.

Athletes and soldiers need to possess stamina, physical power, mental tenability and leadership to perform optimally. Team LottoNL-Jumbo and the Dutch Royal Army continue where others stop. They are only able to defeat their opponents through continual innovation and development. The upcoming period, the team and the Airmobile Brigade will share their knowledge with each other in the fields of training, nutrition and coaching.

Managing Director Richard Plugge is proud of the collaboration with the Dutch Royal Army.

“We have a lot of respect for the raw reality in which the army needs to operate. We realize that sports, obviously, is a completely different dimension. However, we will be useful for each other. We can learn from one other, we both possess extensive knowledge about physical and mental tenability in extreme conditions. The past days we have started our collaboration. The entire team is present in Schaarsbergen, the Netherlands, for our teambuilding days at the Airmobile Brigade. These days, we will work on our TEAM values with the red berets: Together, Excellence, Accessible and Motivation. Each day throughout the year we work on the development of the team. We do so by making sure all individual members reach their full potential via training, innovation and coaching. This is something that corresponds closely to the army, where physical and mental fitness in combination with leadership are the decisive factors for the success of a group as well.”

To be able to innovate faster, the Dutch Royal Army is starting more collaborations with other parties, such as with the business world, educations and now with top sports. The commandant of the Dutch Royal Army, General Mart de Kruif, also sees the benefits.

“In order to win, Team LottoNL-Jumbo and the Army both have to make sure their people reach their full potential. Both are top sports! We can learn from each other and become stronger. This way, we will also make the Netherlands stronger. Athletes are also an example to society. If they perform well, sports is boosted in society. We all benefit from that.”