"Fewer races, but more adventure": This is the 2025 race program for the remarkably adventurous Dutch rider Laurens ten Dam

Dutchman Laurens ten Dam may now be the national coach of the Dutch women's gravel team, as of January 1, but the 44-year-old former WorldTour pro isn’t planning on slowing down. In his Live Slow Ride Fast blog, he has unveiled his race program for 2025. In addition to his new coaching role, he will continue to be active with his popular podcast.

"New year, same motto. It is time to announce the 2025 program," the blog begins. "At Live Slow Ride Fast, we like to shake things up every now and then, by adding new adventures to our program and choosing new regions to discover. But we also love our favorites, so this is how it’s going to be. Now your man LtD isn't the youngest anymore, so don't expect a full UCI calendar."

"The juggling between training, recording the podcasts, fulfilling the media needs of the company, the new job as national coach of the female cyclists and having a personal life with family and friends demands a fresh look on things. Less races, but more adventure," the blog continues. "The focus will be shifting more from multiple short and fast gravel races towards less events but of longer distances."

The adventure starts in February. "From February till March, the team will tackle the Race around Rwanda, a bike-packing race with four checkpoints, covering 1,000 kilometers and 18,000 meters of elevation with start and finish in Kigali. We can't wait for those images," the blog states. "After this race, the coverage of the spring classics in Belgium and Strade Bianchi in Italy is on the menu. In April, we will be back with Villa Vlaanderen and, new this year, Villa Amstel."

Read more below the photo!

Ten Dam faces first championships as national coach

"The month of May and June are pretty much all about racing. Starting with The Traka in Girona, Spain, and following up with the UCI Gravel in Valkenburg (in the Netherlands, ed.), the racing will continue in the USA with Gravel Locos and UNBOUND XL. In between those races, Stefan (Bolt, ed.) and Lau will be sure to cover the Giro d'Italia with their podcasts. In June, the Race around the Netherlands will be an exciting new adventure for Laurens. This bike-packing race is a fully self-supported do-it-yourself challenge over a distance of 1,950 kilometers."

In July, the duo will again host daily podcasts during the Tour de France, followed by a well-deserved break in August. They’ll then focus on highlighting the Vuelta in the podcast, and on an additional film project, which is still under embargo. Next up for Laurens is his first Road World Championships as national coach, again in Rwanda. This will be directly followed by the European Road Championships in the Ardèche and the Gravel World Championships in Nice. "We kind of put our mark on that event last year in Leuven, so we are definitely planning on creating the same buzz and afterparty in France..."

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