{"id":52731,"date":"2026-08-05T07:37:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T07:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/?p=52731"},"modified":"2026-08-16T12:17:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T12:17:04","slug":"team-talk-jeanne-korevaar-on-embracing-being-a-road-captain-and-learning-from-the-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenedgecycling.com\/2026\/team-talk-jeanne-korevaar-on-embracing-being-a-road-captain-and-learning-from-the-best\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Talk: Jeanne Korevaar on embracing being a road captain and learning from the best"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every ship needs its captain, and when good ship Liv AlUla Jayco<\/strong> sets sail each day at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift<\/strong> it is Jeanne Korevaar<\/strong> at the helm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The road captain role is an important one in any team. They\u2019re the eyes and ears for the sports directors back in the car, they make the snap decisions when the conditions change or the race explodes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since joining the GreenEDGE Cycling<\/strong> family in 2024, the Dutch rider has become a reliable stronghold guiding the team through races. A quiet person by nature, Korevaar wasn\u2019t sure if she had the authority and confidence to lead the team like that, but she\u2019s embraced the role over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve grown into it and the team has helped me to become a road captain,\u201d<\/em> she explains. \u201cFor myself, I\u2019m not a pure leader. I really believe in leading by example and giving good guidance. In the end, I think a good road captain gives the team confidence, is really calm, and can make good calls in racing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cActually, I was not super happy to be a road captain in the beginning. I know I have the experience but it\u2019s hard to bring it into the group and I didn\u2019t have the confidence to do it, but the team gave me the opportunity. In the end, over time, I got better at it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still just 29, Korevaar\u2019s age belies the experience she has in the bunch as a rider embarking on her 12th season in the professional peloton. She\u2019s worked with some of the best riders in world cycling and has consistently raced at the highest level \u2013 indeed she is one of two riders on the Liv AlUla Jayco squad that has ridden every edition of the Tour de Femmes avec Zwift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lost count of the seasons. Of course, it doesn\u2019t feel like I\u2019m that woman. I know I\u2019ve been doing it for a while, but it doesn\u2019t feel long in seasons, especially because women\u2019s cycling has changed so much over the years,\u201d<\/em> Korevaar says. \u201cIt\u2019s so different. I\u2019m really proud to still be there in the women\u2019s peloton, but also because I\u2019ve grown with it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A young Jeanne Korvaar joined the star line-up at Rabo Liv in 2015 (Photo: Jeanne Korevaar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As road captain, she wants to make sure that all her teammates are happy and cared for. As one of the most experienced riders in the team, Korevaar also wants to pass on the knowledge she has gained to the younger members of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cActually, I feel a responsibility for the whole team in the race. With young riders, I really like to help them and guide them a little bit,\u201d<\/em> Korevaar says. \u201cNot in a top-down situation, like \u2018we\u2019re the older riders and this is what we do\u2019, but more like helping them with small things. They\u2019re already quite clever, but with the experience they miss sometimes, it\u2019s nice to be able to bring it over.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to make mistakes and to learn from it, but if you don\u2019t have to make the mistakes first then it\u2019s also helpful.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A love of speed<\/strong><\/span>
Korevaar followed her parents into the world of cycling, but not before trying out their first passion of running. While her parents switched to cycling due to injury, the young Korevaar was drawn in by the speed that cycling afforded her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kick of going fast was one thing but it also allowed her to explore further than she could with running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like the speed, it\u2019s a lot higher. I think that\u2019s definitely more fun,\u201d<\/em> she says. \u201cI think it gives me a bit of a kick to go faster, but also if you go faster you can also go further and can make big loops. That\u2019s also what we did as kids, we went on holiday and went bike packing. With a bike, you can go far and you can see a lot. I think that was really what I liked.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Korevaar was teammates with Marianne Vos for many years (Photo: Jeanne Korevaar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Korevaar turned professional in 2015, right out of the junior ranks. It wasn\u2019t something she had considered as a career, but it was a natural progression when she consistently impressed as she climbed through the ranks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was snapped up by the Rabo Liv squad, which would later merge with the Liv AlUla Jayco team in 2024. It saw her working with some of the world\u2019s best riders, including multi-discipline world champion Marianne Vos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never really made the decision that I wanted to be professional. When I was a junior, I was one of the best riders in the Netherlands, then you start thinking about going into a pro team,\u201d<\/em> she says. \u201cBefore that, I had dreamed about it, I think. I was really a fan of women\u2019s cycling and watching it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMarianne was a big hero of mine. It was a bit crazy to be a teammate of hers, but then she is really down to earth so once you are in a team together it feels more natural. But, of course, that was a really big thing in the end.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A world of difference<\/strong><\/span>
Like many riders at the time, Korevaar did not make a full-time living out of the sport. She still lived at home with her parents and studied at university on the side, gaining a degree in human movement sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot has changed since her first races as a professional. Minimum salaries for the top tier of women\u2019s cycling were introduced in 2020 \u2013 with GreenEDGE Cycling among the first teams to get one of the newly created Women\u2019s WorldTeam licenses. The progression has been fast, but Korevaar has moved well with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt goes step by step, so you don\u2019t feel it so much. So that\u2019s good, but I think it\u2019s super nice. At least, outside of cycling I feel way more respect for me as a cyclist for doing this job. People know more about it,\u201d<\/em> Korevaar says. \u201cWhen I started and was doing this full time, I always felt a bit weird. People didn\u2019t understand what I was doing. That\u2019s now completely different. On the other hand, in the bunch, it\u2019s super cool that the level has gone up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jeanne Korevaar at the 2026 Tour de France Femmes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Tour de France Femmes, where the team\u2019s co-title partner Liv is an important sponsor, has also played a key role in pushing the sport forward. Korevaar is racing her fifth edition and is delighted to see how it has grown through the seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s changed women\u2019s cycling a lot. From there, it has grown exponentially. I can feel it as a rider, the attention on the races is so much bigger from there. In the Netherlands, also for the men the only racing that they know is the Tour,\u201d<\/em> she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery year it gets harder. The stages have been getting longer, there\u2019s more climbing, and still it\u2019s very aggressive racing. I am looking forward to riding the Mont Ventoux. I\u2019ve never done this climb, and I think it\u2019s really cool to have this climb. I\u2019m also just looking forward to giving it my all with the team. It\u2019s so intense, it\u2019s the hardest week and the best week.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Korevaar hasn\u2019t only got stronger as a rider, she has developed as a person, too. Helped, in part, but taking on the role of road captain with Liv AlUla Jayco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m a bit less shy and I\u2019m better and better at stepping up and saying what needs to happen. It\u2019s also an age where you\u2019re a bit more confident in yourself,\u201d<\/em> she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo: Sprint Cycling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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