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Kurt Bogaerts (born 8 July 1977) is a Belgian cycling coach, team director and retired professional road racing cyclist.

After competing in road racing from 1999 to 2005 as an independent rider, in 2006 he joined the Sean Kelly ACLVB–M.Donnelly squad. He retired from racing after the season and began his managerial and coaching career with the team in 2007. In 2021 he joined UCI World Tour team Ineos Grenadiers as an assistant directeur sportif.

Cycling career

As an independent rider, Bogaerts competed primarily in one-day races in his native Belgium. His highest placings were 22nd in the 2002 Memorial Philippe Van Coningsloo, and 23rd in the 2000 GP Stad Vilvoorde.

After joining Sean Kelly ACLVB–M.Donnelly in 2006, he competed in his first and only professional stage race at Rás Tailteann, known that year as FBD Insurance Ras. Bogaerts finished in 72nd place overall, with a best placing of 25th on stage five.

At the age of 29, he retired from professional cycling at the end of the 2006 season.

Management career

Bogaerts stayed with the team after his retirement and worked alongside Sean Kelly as Team Manager. He remained with the team until their closure at the end of the 2017 season. During this time he also worked with Lotto Ladies (2010) and Team Wiggins Le Col (2013 - 2019) as an assistant directeur sportif.

The first professional victory of Bogaerts' managerial career was stage one of the 2008 Vuelta a Extremadura, a team time trial in Mérida, Spain. Team rider Daniel Lloyd also took the overall victory.

In 2021 he joined Ineos Grenadiers as a coach and assistant directeur sportif.

Coaching career

Prior to joining Ineos Grenadiers, Bogaerts had worked with Tom Pidcock since 2018 and renewed this relationship when he joined the team staff in 2021. Bogaerts worked closely with Pidcock as he began to excel at the top level of multiple cycling disciplines, with Pidcock claiming two Olympic Mountain Biking gold medals and road race victories at the 2023 Strade Bianche, 2024 Amstel Gold Race and stage twelve at the 2022 Tour de France, a summit finish atop Alpe d'Huez.

Addressing Pidcock's talent and versatility, in 2021 Bogaerts said “We don’t need to put him in a box – that’s not going to work. He needs to have that freedom and to race with his heart. Tom needs to be free and to keep that identity. That will be key to a long and happy career."

In addition to working with Dylan van Baarle for his victory at 2022 Paris–Roubaix, Bogaerts also coached Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to victory in the Women's Mountain Bike race at the 2024 Summer Olympics, meaning he had coached the winner in three of the four races in the discipline across the 2020 and 2024 Games.

References

1. "Kurt Bogaerts". www.procyclingstats.com.
2. http://www.rastailteann.com/uploads/stage_9_final_results.pdf
3. "LOTTO LADIES TEAM". UCI.
4. "Kurt Bogaerts staff profile". www.procyclingstats.com.
5. https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/lloyd-wins-spanish-stage-race-96469
6. https://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/ex-cycling-ireland-an-post-crc-manager-joins-ineos-grenadiers-as-directeur/
7. "Kurt Bogaerts". Ineos Grenadiers.
8. ^ https://www.eurosport.com/cycling/cyclingn-news-tom-pidcocks-early-success-is-unique-claims-ineos-coach-kurt-bogaerts_sto8193323/story.shtml
9. "Thomas Pidcock". www.procyclingstats.com.
10. https://www.eurosport.com/cycling/paris-roubaix/2022/its-too-much-ineos-ds-kurt-bogaerts-overcome-with-emotion-after-paris-roubaix-win_vid1665486/video.shtml
11. Whittle, Jeremy (July 29, 2024). "'It's bigger than cycling': Tom Pidcock defies puncture to claim Olympic gold" – via The Guardian.

• Living people
• 1977 births
• Belgian male cyclists
• Directeur sportifs