General Manager Esra Tromp (read here) and Head Sporting Director Carmen Small (read here) will be in charge of EF Education-Cannondale in 2024. We would also like to introduce the other members of the Performance Team. Meet Daniel Fodder, Emma Trott and Anna Karceller.
Daniel Foder: “The level is high”
Daniel Fodder joins Carmen Small as athletic director. The 40-year-old Dane raced for about 10 years before becoming a DS for the men’s and women’s teams. His career began as sports director at Virtu Cycling, where he worked with the men’s team, while Small handled duties for the women’s team.
“We exchanged ideas and planned training camps together,” Foder says of that period. “We really supported each other because we had full responsibility for our team. That’s why I wanted to work with Carmen again, because I know her so well. We like to work in the same way but we still have two different personalities. I think we complement each other.”
It’s not just riders excited for the 2024 season. “Having a new group of riders, a new team, is always exciting,” Foder says. “I want to be part of the building process and I also want to prove that we can achieve success. That is the most important thing. I think the team has a strong foundation. We have set the bar high.”
Emma Trott: ‘My legs were shaking’
As the team’s Director of Performance, Emma Trott will play many roles: coach, athletic director and cheerleader. The 33-year-old British cyclist, who himself defended the Boyles colors, says: “I will train a number of riders, which means I will make sure that their training matches well with what the team management is looking for in competition programmes.” -Dolman. “For the riders I don’t coach, I’m in touch with their coaches to make sure we’re all on the same page as we prepare for the season.”
Trott admits that there is more to cycling than just training and racing. “It’s about building a relationship with riders, but building that relationship has nothing to do with cycling. You learn things like: What do you do for fun at home? Who is part of your family? Do you have pets? It’s easy to focus too much on the bike, But cyclists are more than just cyclists.”
Trott raced from 2008 to 2014 before moving to New Zealand, where she worked as a personal trainer. When she realized how much she missed cycling, she returned to Europe and has spent the last five years with British Cycling. After just one conversation with General Manager Esra Tromp, Trott knew she wanted to work at EF Education-Cannondale. “That first conversation took two hours,” the British woman says. “I had to tell Esra that I had to be at the track in 20 minutes and I was still in my pajamas! But I was shaking after that conversation. I’ve talked to other bands in the past and I was never ready to jump ship, but I loved talking to Esra and he was “To see this team really resonates with me.”
Anna Karceller: “Hormonal cycle is a priority”
Anna Karceller, who will be a dietitian at EF Education-Cannondale, is also a physician. For the past ten years, I have worked primarily with female athletes 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 all the riders are hormonally and menstrually healthy. At the end of the day, performance comes from health.
Carceller has been heavily involved in research throughout her career, and she is encouraged that notions of “health” and “nutrition” have also increased among female athletes in recent years. “Men’s and women’s bodies used to be treated the same way, but in recent years it has become very clear that the female hormonal cycle has its own needs and rhythms,” she says. “We have to work within that framework to allow our riders to be the best versions of themselves.”
She is thrilled that EF Education-Cannondale is committed to women’s health. “I think it’s very exciting that the team is prioritizing health and menstrual cycles and really looking after the riders. My role is exactly that, which is to look after the health of our athletes, so the image is appropriate.
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