Triathlon coaching great Dan Lorang has sights set on Tour de France, Olympic Games and IRONMAN World Championship
He coaches many of the top triathletes in the world ā but Dan Lorangās main job is actually with top pro cycling team Bora-hansgrohe, where he is Head of Performance / Head Coach.
We rightly make much in the triathlon world of the multi-sport exploits of the likes of Danās latest recruit Taylor Knibb, three-time Canadian TT champ Paula Findlay and the unique talents of Cam Wurf.
But Lorang belongs very much in that rarified bracket himself, and later this week he and his Bora-hansgrohe squad, soon to be Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, go into arguably their biggest Tour de France in years.
āItās really your passionā
Theyāve racked up Grand Tour stage wins over the last few years ā plus the overall at the 2022 Giro dāItalia ā but their signing of Primož RogliÄ has definitely changed the dynamic.
RogliÄ, the reigning menās Olympic TT champion, won the Giro last season and is a three-time Vuelta a EspaƱa winner.
He landed the Tour de Franceās traditional warm-up event, the CritĆ©rium du DauphinĆ©, earlier this month and only Tadej PogaÄar and Jonas Vingegaard, who between them have won the last four editions of Le Tour, are better fancied for outright glory in Nice next month.
And asked how on earth he manages to cram everything in, Lorang has a simple but effective response, telling TRI247: āI always keep the same answer. I donāt really think about it, to be honest. Iām just doing it.
Coach Dan Lorang (Photo credit: BORA ā hansgrohe / Veloimages)
āIn terms of balancing the whole work. As long as you really love what youāre doing, you can manage a lot of load because itās not really load, itās really your passion.ā
Your monthly dose of endurance sports geekery – from gear reviews to hot tips & takes.
WATCH MORE
ELEVATING ENDURANCE WITH PREMIUM GEAR & SERVICES
SHOP ONLINE
āI have no favouriteā
He says more of a challenge is making sure he doesnāt favour any of his triathlete stars over the others, explaining: āI think at heart what is not so easy sometimes is you said I have three of the best female triathletes in the world and they are competitors. So they go against each other.
āSo always hoping that they still believe that I give hundred percent for every one of them. Sometimes this pops up in my mind. Not often, but sometimes it comes and then I put it aside because I can honestly say thatās exactly what Iām doing. I have no favourite.
āIf I am on the phone to Lucy [Charles-Barclay], Iām 100% with Lucy. If I have Anne [Haug], itās the same and with Taylor, the same. So for me itās really separated.
āAnd so hopefully the women can keep it the same. So that is the only concern that I sometimes have.ā
Pressure ramping up ā in a good way
But he does admit that Bora-hansgrohe do go into this yearās Tour, which starts in Florence on Saturday, with heightened expectations.
āFor sure the pressure on the team is higher,ā he agrees. āThatās why Iām also happy that we brought Primožās coach on board with us so that we have a little bit of that environment.ā
And thereās another key difference too ā from the Tour onwards, the team will become āRed Bull-BORA-hansgroheā after Red Bull was last month confirmed as the majority owner and title sponsor, with a long-term project of winning the Tour de France and becoming the best team in the world.
āWith Red Bull coming on board, the team will be getting more attention,ā says Lorang. That also potentially means more work for everyone on the team, with Dan adding: āItās the same for me, like for the bus driver, like for the general manager, but it doesnāt matter. Itās for good cause, because thereās a nice project going on for the future. So all good.
āAnd above all I have a good family who supports me. That is really important ā otherwise [all this] would not be possible.ā
A momentous few weeks await ā from Tour de France to the Olympics and much, much more ā including the womenās IRONMAN World Championship, where he had the one-two last year, back in the Tourās final-stage destination of Nice.