René Wenzel (born 20 April 1960,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

) is a Danish cycle racing coach, working as a consultant. He is a former coach of

USA Cycling USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and BMX across all ages and ability levels. ...

's national junior team, Koege Cykel Ring in Denmark, and first cycling teacher at a sports college in Denmark, the Gentofte Studenter Kursus.

Biography

Wenzel went to school at Bispebjerg Skole and Efterslaegtselskabets Gymnasium before moving to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in 1979, and to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1980, to race as a professional cyclist. He won the Danish and the

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n junior road championships. Wenzel contracted

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

in 1980, and took over 18 months out of racing. A racing trip to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in 1981 gave Wenzel his first taste of coaching when he and friend Stig Larsen worked as assistant coaches for the Philippine National Team. Wenzel spent five years competing in America. He excelled in endurance events on the velodrome. Wenzel returned to Denmark in 1988, and stopped racing at the end of 1989 after more than 22 years and 300 victories. He returned to America as a national team coach from January 1990 until December 1992 when he was laid off due to the downsizing of team programs. During his employment, the team won two world championships and several silver and bronze medals. Wenzel became first Danish directeur sportif of a UCI professional team in 1993, when he joined Saturn. In 1994 Saturn changed management and Wenzel left to create Wenzel World Champion Coaching, now Wenzel Coaching. He returned to the expanded Saturn team, renamed Saturn Cycling, as manager and directeur sportif in 1995. Wenzel worked for Saturn Cycling until spring 2000, when together with his wife, Kendra Wenzel, he returned to her native

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, where later that year they became parents to daughter Katrine. Three former athletes, Greg Strock, Erich Kaiter and Gerrik Latta accused Wenzel, along with Chris Carmichael, Cycling USA and

Angus Fraser Angus Robert Charles Fraser (born 8 August 1965) is an English cricket administrator. He served as the managing director of Middlesex Cricket between 2009 and 2021, before assuming a new role heading the club's academy. He is currently se ...

, of treating them with illegal drugs in 1990, feeding them pills and giving them injections, such as

cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enzyme corticosteroid 11-beta-dehydrogenase ...

, an immunosuppressant; Greg Strock in 2000, Erich Kaiter later in 2001 and Gerrik Latta. Strock, Kaiter and Latta reportedly made out-of-court settlements with USAC's insurance company on behalf of USAC and René Wenzel. Wenzel continue to deny the charges. Wenzel's 'Bike Racing 101' written with Kendra was published in May 2003.'Bike Racing 101', René Wenzel & Kendra Wenzel Published: May 2003 Human Kinetics Europe Wenzel directed the small Continental team, Subway, in 2004 and in 2005 owned it. Its best result was to win the 2005 Tour of El Salvador. Kendra and René Wenzel separated in May 2005, and divorced in August 2007. In November 2007, the Malaysian National Cycling Federation offered Wenzel the position of director of coaching, but it never came to fruition. Wenzel now (2015) works as a Personal Assistant for the Executive of Business Development at T-Systems Denmark and attend Zealand Institute of Business & Technology for a degree in Leadership & Management.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenzel, Rene 1960 births Living people Danish male cyclists Cycling coaches Danish sports coaches Cyclists from Copenhagen 20th-century Danish sportsmen