Pro pedal power
HOLLAND-BrAZIL KNOW-HOW EXCHANGE
Rabobank
rtabooan
sponsorship news
In late January, the composition of our 21-man professional
cycling team, including three new Dutch riders, was formally unveiled. It is
hoped that the new (and strengthened) team will build on the solid
accomplishments of 1997 and take us a stage further along the road of restoring
the Netherlands to the highest ranks of international cycling.
intense public attention - it is important
to note that it is merely the summit of a
much broader program sponsored by
Rabobank. Underlying the Rabobank
Cycling Program is a belief that
consistently strong performance needs to
be developed over the long-term - that
talent should be cultivated from the
bottom up - and that success depends on
the best coaching and latest scientific
training techniques.
MASTERCLASSES
The Program includes junior and neo-
amateur teams, the Ardennes trial, and the
so-called Rabobank Masterclass aimed at
strengthening the cycling clubs. Thus,
savvy cycling fans will also be watching to
see if our junior and all Dutch neo-
amateur teams can match their strong
achievements of the 1997 season. Cycling
plan experts will meanwhile be touring the
race circuit, scouting for young talent, and
will invite some 30 newcomers to take
part in the Rabobank Ardennes trial,
designed to demonstrate the ability of the
Presentation of the 1998 cycling teams.
1998 will be an important year for cycling
within the Netherlands as well, with a
World Championship scheduled to be held
in the Valkenburg hills this October.
Several dozen other races - including the
Tour de France and the Vuelta Espana -
will test the Rabo-sponsored cycling teams
to the full between now and then.
Although our professional team has
naturally become the focus of the most
Tbree new profsf.l.t.r.: Mare Lotz, Joban
Bruinsma and Bert Hiemstra.
young Dutch cyclists who are chosen to
take part. Those identified as likely
candidates for team membership will be
given early coaching and support.
GOOD FOUNDATIONS
Another part of the Program recognizes
that the national network of clubs fornt
the seed of our cycling future. Clubs can
thus make use of the so-called Rabobank
Masterclass - involving free training days
- as well as a chance to participate in the
Rabobank Cycling Tour. 'Our absolute
objective is to develop an invincible Dutch
core and a Dutch team that can compete
on all fronts,' says cycling team leader
Theo de Rooy. 'We have to lay good
foundations for the future as well as being
realistic.' This focus on young talent
should ensure - according to assistant
team leader Adri van Houwelingen - that
'the best years are still to come'.
One of the world's largest countries and one of its smallest reinforced ties going
back to the mid-17th century through the creation of a chair in Brazilian studies
at Leiden University in the Netherlands.To mark the occasion, Brazil's vice
president Marco Maciel made the official presentation to Rector Magnificus
Professor W.A. Wagenaar of Holland's oldest university.
Prime mover behind the chair was Dutch
ambassador HJ.van Oordt.with strong
support from the Dutch business community
in Brazil, including of course,our own Raibo do
Brasil.This is perhaps why former general
manager Teun de Boon was amongst a select
groups of speakers invited to a seminar hosted
by the Banco do Brasil in Amsterdam ahead of
the official presentation at Leiden. Now
general manager at Tilburg and acting as an
advocate for the Dutch-Brazilian Chamber of
Commerce, it was striking that Banco do Brasil
asked De Boon rather than bringing in one of
their own people. Clearly, the fact that we are
among the main sponsors of the chair played a
role. Whatever the reason, it gave him an
opportunity to plug the Can Do team in Sao
Teun de Boon - one of the speakers.
Paolo to around 100 Dutch business people
interested in entering the Brazilian market. fl
STUDENT PROGRAM
Described as an emerging market full of
promise, in spite of recent set backs set in
motion by the Asian crisis, the notion behind
the Leiden chair is to highlight various aspects
of Brazilian culture and society. Every year, an
academie committee will select a suitable
candidate who will hold the chair for one
semester. In this way, the true diversity of this
huge country can be explored in further
depth.The university also plans to establish a
student program which would allow them to
gain work experience either in Dutch
corporates in Brazil or Brazilian companies in
the Netherlands.The sponsors include top
Dutch corporate names, like KLM and Shell
along with both Rabobank International and
Raibo do Brasil. In light of our commitment to
know-how exchange.this kind of investment
should pay real dividends for the future.
bobarfr
