I, wronskian, manager of Navarone Cycling Team, have been wanting to write Sherard Rolf's biography for more than a month, and struggled greatly with it. Inspiration struck me today for doing it in a somewhat unconventional manner, and after some hesitation, I decided to go for it. Hopefully, you'll also find it enjoyable.
"What Sherard Rolf means to me?"
Means finally finding my true purpose in OCM: finding ways to win with unconventional riders and strategies. He was the first gamble I took with a rider that looked great on paper but, somehow, better teams before me couldn't make work. That gamble paid out immensely in both earnings and prestigious victories, and I got hooked to that emotion, which I try to reproduce often, either via training non-streamlined profiles and watch them unfold, or via hiring riders with dubious qualities. He was the first successful example of such...
Read moreI, wronskian, manager of Navarone Cycling Team, have been wanting to write Sherard Rolf's biography for more than a month, and struggled greatly with it. Inspiration struck me today for doing it in a somewhat unconventional manner, and after some hesitation, I decided to go for it. Hopefully, you'll also find it enjoyable.
"What Sherard Rolf means to me?"
Means finally finding my true purpose in OCM: finding ways to win with unconventional riders and strategies. He was the first gamble I took with a rider that looked great on paper but, somehow, better teams before me couldn't make work. That gamble paid out immensely in both earnings and prestigious victories, and I got hooked to that emotion, which I try to reproduce often, either via training non-streamlined profiles and watch them unfold, or via hiring riders with dubious qualities. He was the first successful example of such an approach, and provided the confirmation I needed that this was the way to go for me.
He also brings me great memories of my German classes, now I unfortunately can no longer join them. I remember having to sneakily bring my phone out to see how he did in Stages 2 and 4 during class, one time even during an exam, and, usually, my mood rapidly improved upon seeing him hang into the GC. Afterwards, when class was over, I used to have one of the happiest walks back home from school or work I can remember as an adult. Sometimes, I even did something spontaneous, like grabbing pizza for dinner, or some wine at the store. Unbelievable :)
Similarly, he was one of the few sources of pure, unadultered bliss during the initial phases of the lockdowns. His often unexpected triumphs came as a blessing in times of uncertainty about the present and future, and for a few minutes, I could forget about the gloomy picture that was painted in my mind, and instead just enjoy the beauty of something turning out right without having to fight for it greatly, just having some massive luck for no reason at all.
He also marks one of our unsuccessful attempts to get a rider into the Kenny Haakon List, something this team has tried since the Oosterhof era, to no avail. It was truly hearbreaking to realize he would no longer be able to make it, and one of the main reasons for selling him was the hope that maybe in another team he would be able to find the wins and results he was missing to make it. Unfortunately for all of us involved, that didn't work either.
Finally, he means one of the rare occasions I decided to put heart before reason, when he was hired back from Team Chili after his stint there. Even though we severely overpaid for the privilege of him retiring in our team, each time I open Tweedaagse van Antwerpen's page and I see both his name and our team's name in boldface, and not only our team's name, I am immediately reminded that was the right decision.
An apology to Rolfie for making his bio more about me than about himself. Enjoy your well deserved retirement, Mr. TvA!