This is Performance Staffing by Ezra Tromp, Manager at EF Education-Cannondale: “Focus on the Menstrual Cycle”

General Manager Ezra Trump (read here) and Chief Sporting Director Carmen Small (read here) will be in charge of EF Education-Cannondale in 2024. We would also like to introduce other members of the performance team. Meet Danielle Fodor, Emma Trott and Anna Karseller.

Daniel Fodor: “The bar is set high”

Daniel Fodor joins Carmen Small as Sports Director. The 40-year-old Dane has been racing for around 10 years and has become the DS for both the men’s and women’s teams. His career as a sports director began with Team Virtue Cycling, where he worked with the men’s team while Small took over duties with the women’s team.

“We shared ideas and planned training camps,” Fodor says of that time. “We supported each other as we both had full responsibility for our teams. That’s why I wanted to work with Carmen again, because I know her so well. We like to work the same way, but we still have 2 different personalities. I think we complement each other.

The Raiders aren’t the only ones interested in the 2024 season. “A new group of riders, a new team, is always exciting,” says Fodor. “I want to be part of the building process and prove that we can be successful. That’s the most important thing. I believe the team has a strong foundation. We’ve set the bar high.

Emma Trott: “My legs were shaking”

As the team’s performance manager, Emma Trott plays multiple roles: coach, sports director and cheerleader. “I train a lot of riders, which means I make sure that their training fits well with what the team management is looking for in the competition plans,” says the 33-year-old British rider, who defended Polz’s colours. -Dolmans. “For the riders I don’t coach, I stay in touch with their coaches to make sure we’re all on the same page as we prepare for the season.”

Trott admits there is more to cycling than training and racing. “It’s about building a relationship with the riders, but building that relationship has nothing to do with cycling. You learn things like: What do you do for fun at home? Who’s part of your family? Do you have pets? It’s easy to focus too much on the bike, but the riders are more than the cyclists. .”

Trott competed from 2008 to 2014 before moving to New Zealand, where he became a personal trainer. When she realized how much she missed cycling, she returned to Europe and spent the last 5 years with British Cycling. After a conversation with general manager Ezra Tromp, Trott learned he wanted to work at EF Education-Cannondale. “That first conversation lasted 2 hours,” says the British woman. “I had to tell Ezra I had to be on the track in 20 minutes and still had my pajamas on! But after that conversation I was shaking. I had talked to other teams in the past and I was never ready to jump ship, but I really enjoyed talking to Ezra and the vision of this team really resonated with me. echoed.

Anna Karcellar: “Hormonal Cycle Priority”

Anna Karseller, a nutritionist at EF Education-Cannondale, is also a physician. Over the past 10 years she has worked with female athletes primarily in endurance sports, particularly cycling and running, focusing on the role of nutrition in health and performance. “For me, health is the most important thing. I want to make sure that all riders are healthy from a hormonal and menstrual point of view. After all, performance comes from health,” he says.

Garceller has been heavily involved in research throughout her career and is encouraged by the rise of ‘health’ and ‘nutrition’ concepts among female athletes in recent years. “Men’s and women’s bodies are treated the same, but in recent years it has become increasingly clear that the female hormone cycle has its own needs and rhythms,” she says. “We have to work within this framework for our riders to be the best version of themselves.”

She is pleased that EF Education-Cannondale is committed to women’s health. “I think it’s really exciting to prioritize team health and menstrual cycles and actually take care of the riders. My role is to take care of the health of our athletes, so the picture fits.

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