PEDAL POWER!

Ten Hag tapping Tour quru

- SIMON MULLOCK

ERIK TEN HAG has been tapping into the expertise of the man who masterminded last year's Tour de France triumph for Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard.

Ten Hag is close friends with Merijn Zeeman, the director of crack Dutch cycling team Jumbo Visma.

Zeeman, whose riders are once again expected to feature heavily at the front of this year's Tour, revealed before yesterday's Grand Depart in Bilbao that he has been giving the United manager advice on how to get the best out of his players.

The pair first became friends when Ten Hag was coach of Dutch giants Ajax. The Old Trafford boss is a stickler for detail and a believer in the benefit of small gains.

Zeeman, who still plays amateur football at the age of 44, revealed: "Erik recognised that in successful teams in football and cycling there is a lot of overlap.