While new to Team Katusha, Jurgen Van den Broeck (32) is no stranger to cycling fans, coming from a long and successful career that includes third and 4th place finishes in the Tour de France in 2010 and 2012, as well as sixth place in the 2008 Giro d’Italia and 8th in the Vuelta a España. In addition, Van den Broeck is the current Belgian time trial champion. He joins Team Katusha after nine years with the Lotto teams, most recently Lotto Soudal.

“It wasn’t so hard for me to decide to move,” a relaxed Van den Broeck told the Katusha website at the team training camp in Calpe, Spain. “I feel I stayed a few years too long and my performances were not good. Mentally I wasn’t feeling good and it was time to get some fresh air and gain back some renewed motivation.” 

Two years ago Van den Broeckcrashed hard in the Tour de France, hurting his knee and requiring surgery.

“After the operation some people doubted that I could come back as a cyclist and I didn’t feel the support I needed to make my recovery. I didn’t feel my career was over but in some ways without the support of my team, I found it difficult to find the courage to fight. I ended up working through it. I made it back to racing, but of course I was not very good at the beginning so I heard more negative comments about my chances to return to the top of cycling. Then when I would do a good race, I’d hear positive feedback about my chances, only to be followed by more negative attitude when I couldn’t hold my form at every race. It was lonely at times, especially in training when there was so much time to think and wonder if all of it was really worth it when the support and backing was not there. I was always a rider who cared about my preparation and came to races ready to compete and go full gas, so it felt strange to not feel supported.”

Along the way in the professional career of a rider, many teammates come and go, but some of them stay in one’s life. For Jurgen Van den Broeck, two former teammates always checked in with him to see how things were going and to encourage him to continue moving forward. As General Manager and head sports director for Team Katusha, Viacheslav Ekimov and José Azevedo were eventually in management positions to make a difference for Van den Broeck.

“I always stayed in contact with Eki and José and even when I wasn’t with their team, they gave me motivation to fight back. This was very special to me, especially since I didn’t race for them. I knew I was at the end of my contract so we were able to talk. It was a big deal for me – Eki and Azevedo were big riders and I will even go so far as to say that both of them were my heroes, so for them to be interested in me meant a lot to me.”

Being the “new kid on the block” isn’t always easy, but Van den Broeck has had no problem fitting in with his new teammates.

“We don’t all speak the same languages, that’s for sure, but I have felt very welcomed to the group and that’s a good thing. I like the Canyon bike a lot also and I can see that Eki and Azevedo want us to have the best of everything. This provides even more motivation as they want to see us train well and be ready with good materials. The image of the team is that it is not open or friendly but I have already told people this is simply not true. I would recommend this team to any rider I spoke to.”

Every rider brings something to the table in order to contribute to the success of the team. For Van den Broeck he readily brings his years of experience in hopes of helping the younger guys in their careers.

“I bring a lot of experience to help the younger riders, and also look for my own motivation to bring results to the team. I know I can still do it. I want to be part of the team that wants to be the best in the world. I hope to see results for myself in some of the early season WorldTour stage races and then I will work with “Purito” in the Ardennes Classics. I’ll also look for GC results in the big tours.”

There is life off the bike too and Van den Broeck spends some of his free time supporting football and cyclo-cross in his native Belgium.

“I try to have a calm life at home. I enjoy nature and taking care of our Alpaca. We’ve only had him for a year so long-term I’m not sure I’ll be an Alpaca farmer, but we’ll see. I’ll continue to be a rider as long as my body says yes and I can stay strong mentally. I lost a few years in cycling recently and I want to make it good again. This is my job and I love it.”