De Heij started his profession as a sports activities director with at a Dutch junior crew, earlier than rapidly transferring to Unibet Tietema Rockets. He was additionally energetic as a rider with a membership crew in The Netherlands earlier than moving into his function as sports activities director.
The younger Dutchman intentionally selected to work with the ladies’s crew. “Women’s cycling is on the rise. That really appealed to me. In addition, Team Visma | Lease a Bike is one of the biggest teams in the world, which makes it very special to work here,” De Heij says. He took the initiative to succeed in out to Head of Coaching Jacco Verhaeren: “I know Jacco from the UCI sports director course. Everything happened much faster than I expected. In January, I attended my first training camp in Spain, where I was warmly welcomed by both riders and staff. It’s a great group, and I felt at home very quickly.”