Inspire the Next Generation of Riders
Customer Testimonials
"I have been riding with Dutch Diesel Cycling on Zwift for 4 years now, so I am quite familiar with virtual rides, workouts and training. In February 2021, I started working with Coach Erik Hofman on a personal training plan that could incorporate my weekly Zwift commitments with Dutch Diesel Cycling, add some personal training sessions to improve my fitness, strength and stamina, as well as tidy up my weekly miles into productive, focused training.
My problem was overdoing it. I’d Zwift multiple times a day, sometimes rides, sometimes races. As a result I fatigued my body and legs, mentally exhausted myself and found my fitness would plateau because structure was missing.
Erik’s input and guidance has been invaluable these past 7 months. My cycling ability grows with steady, constant gains. My Zwifting calendar is customized to allow for the group rides I love, the workouts I need, and the flexibility to add the odd Zwift event or two for fun. Erik offers prompt, thorough feedback on my performances, always looking for ways to adapt and personalize my training to gain the most benefits, whilst working into my schedule.
I highly recommend Dutch Diesel Cycling’s personalized coaching. Erik has been, and continues to be a pleasure to work with. I am incredibly pleased to see myself making gains as a result of his plan."
Sam, Zwift and road cyclist
"I just love riding my bike and do it a lot! Once I learned there was 65 mile road race on the Texas calendar, and after a year without races, I needed some extra structure. I came across Erik through his Dutch Diesel Cycling rides on Zwift awhile ago and joined a couple of group workouts. It felt like a good fit.
Erik provided a detailed intake conversation, and always gives instant feedback and encouragement. It is a pleasure working with Erik in getting race-ready. In the three months so far, I already see significant improvements and I’m looking forward in breaking a few more power records!"
Jolanda, Zwift Cyclist and Texas ITT State Champion
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“Erik and I have ridden together many years. He has always encouraged me to try new technology and new training methods. I decided to use him as a coach last year when I was not seeing the progress that I wanted. We tossed around a few ideas and he convinced me that I should get a smart trainer and power meter for my training. We developed a plan that would work with my schedule.
Since I started with Dutch Diesel Coaching I have seen a 10 percent improvement in FTP over the last year and have seen my times drop on many segments on Strava. The workouts are tough but Erik is very responsive if changes need to be made. If you’re racing, looking to do your first century or just looking to improve your overall fitness I would highly recommend Dutch Diesel Coaching!”
- Scott, Zwift and road cyclist
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" I’ve been doing various group rides for quite some time, always staying in the middle of the pack and not seeing improvements as I just rolled with the groups. I wanted to step up my rides and found Erik through several recommendations and research. I’ve been working with Erik close to a year now. My FTP has increased significantly and now I can “pull” up front and maintain my endurance. In addition, I recently joined a “hammer ride“ group!
Another benefit of Erik’s coaching is that he is open to discussing my progress or rides any time, which is included in his coaching fee. Other coaching programs had minimum contacts with the coach and then you were billed for the additional time, like billable attorney time. Also, being local in the Bay Area I wanted to be able to ride side-by-side with a coach which was important to me. I looked into coaches in Southern California, Utah, and Florida...difficult to meet together and they mostly wanted to see your wattage, etc and not work with me on a regular basis to make adjustments and improve.
I highly recommend Erik and Dutch Diesel Cycling"
- Dave, Zwift and road cyclist
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"Only 5 weeks of structured training with Coach Erik helped me achieve a life long goal of going under 60 minutes for a 40K time trial.
Erik’s flexible blend of FTP based workouts, challenging group rides and races in Zwift, along with some outdoor riding on the weekend fit my schedule perfectly and keeps training fun.
Many thanks Coach Erik, much appreciated!!”
- Kane Murphy, 2nd place finisher in the LAMBRA/USAC Individual Time Trial Championship
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“As a time crunched person who spends more hours going through airports than on the bike, having Erik as a coach has been great. He has helped me increase fitness and endurance with a well thought out plan. The plan is tailored to accommodate my travel and work schedule. It takes advantage of Training Peaks and Zwift. He tracks my progress and makes changes to challenge me to reach new heights; it isn't easy but it is effective. The plan takes into account recovery, rest, and family time.
We first met for him to understand my goals and work-life time demands. After an initial fitness test on the bike, Erik created a program and then adjusts as you go.
I highly recommend Erik as a coach. He listens, looks at data, requests feedback, and makes adjustments accordingly. I am very pleased with what the outcome of training with him.”
- Pedro, trained for a century
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"Coach Erik provided me a solid training plan that includes a weekly Zwift group ride and weekly group workout. At the beginning, I was intimidated and especially struggled on the group rides. Within a few weeks, I was successful in staying with the group. During the workouts I learned about my ability to recover from intervals and maintain good power, and it made me feel involved with a team – not just grinding out rides and workouts on my own.
This coaching program led to confidence in my performance at Barry-Roubaix. I achieved my personal best performance thanks to Dutch Diesel Cycling.”
- Alan, trained for Barry-Roubaix gravel race and finished in under 4 hours
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"My training with Dutch Diesel Cycling prepared me for every aspect of the Race Across America. Overall, I am tickled to have felt as strong as I did through the entire event.
I think one of the most helpful aspect of our training plan was the repeat tempo efforts. That's what this race was all about. The ability to go from racing to sleeping and back to racing is hard to train for, but what we did with our repeats during training was about as close as can be.
As far as our training verses needs regarding output, some of the grades on the bigger climbs of Wolf Creek Pass and the pass right after it were 7 to 8 miles of 7 to 8 %. I found myself thinking of the Alp de Zwift and the Watopia KOM during these. These were relentless, not particularly steep but just have to diesel through them. I thought the climbing in Zwift and outside in my local area prepared me very well for these climbs. On Wolf Creek Pass, my teammate and I had agreed to have me ride the lead in of 8 miles and the first two miles of the hill. My teammate would ride the next three miles and I would finish off the top three. Then, my teammate would ride the 15 to 20 mile descent.
I rode the first two miles and my teammate rode his three. In the first bit of my final push to the top, I passed a rider from another 8-man team. That team was making rider changes every quarter mile in an attempt to briskly get this mountain behind them. It became a challenge I couldn't resist. I would pass their fizzled out rider and a fresh one would come whizzing by me only to burn up and be passed. Again, a fresh rider would pass me, burn up, and be passed. After a few of these transitions that team realized that the person passing them each time was a single rider – me! They began to cheer and honk with encouragement as they witnessed my determination to stay up with their efforts. This juice, this competitive inner self, thrived in the challenge. It was something I will remember forever.
There were times with tailwinds and flats, pouring down rain and slick roads, smooth like glass tarmac and crappy chip seal with transition joints jarring your bones. We rode through the heat of the desert and cold of the mountain nights – every sort of climate condition you may think of. We rode single lanes edged with beautiful foliage and 4-lane freeways that were pretty scary. I ground out 5o RPM and a few miles an hour on some short steep climbs and raced 50 plus MPH on fantastic descents.
Our crew and racers all endured sleep deprivation, became disoriented more than once, and learned to watch out for one another. We truly became a team – one that cared for and watched out for one another, helping each other achieve a greater goal than any of us could achieve on our own.
The training plan from Dutch Diesel Cycling was spot on. The depth of intensity in each zone was well balanced, the duration and mix within zones replicated the event pretty darn well. We pushed hard during the builds and tapered well to the event. I felt strong and rode well. This was one of the most amazing and thrilling events of my life and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing me with the base and depth through training that I needed in order to make my contribution to the team’s effort.
Chris, Race Across America Racer
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"I started out with an FTP of 227W and I had a PR of 31:52 on the Mount Diablo junction climb (set back in 2018). After 7 months of training with Dutch Diesel Cycling, my FTP has increased to 270W and my PR on Mount Diablo is now 29:44. Along the way I have set new PRs on numerous segments locally, beating times I set 5 or 6 years ago."
Kevin, Zwift and Outdoor rider.
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I joined Zwift in December 2019 in order to cycle through the winter months in preparation for a cycling vacation I had planned on in Spring 2020. When the pandemic hit, the trip was canceled, but I never stopped Zwifting. I love Zwift and was so happy to find a place to ride, stay fit and social, and make some new virtual friends. I ended up really embracing Zwift and started wanting to see more improvement.
I joined the DDC Zwift racing team in the months that followed and found myself plateauing and no longer progressing. I reached out to Erik in May 2021, and we set up a plan that fit my cycling goals and accommodated my limited hours, secondary to my job. It is amazing to feel and experience the difference that structured training offers. I have had steady improvement with every element of my training, both short and especially the longer duration efforts! It is great! I can see the improvement in my data and I feel the improvement during weekly rides and races! My teammates even notice! A typical week includes focused workouts, some zone 2 work and a higher intensity tempo long ride. What I think benefits me the most are the workouts. I do these in ERG mode on Zwift. We do both high intensity sessions and strength sessions. High intensity sessions could be anything from a sweet-spot or pyramid session to, my favorite, over-unders and the strength sessions are primarily zone 3 power with low cadence and those have proven very valuable for me.
I enjoy working with Erik because he listens to the goals I want to try achieving and is super encouraging and communicates with me. He offers quick feedback both when I have a great session on the bike and want to celebrate and also when I feel like I didn't have a great session. He genuinely cares and wants me to succeed and that means so much to me. I definitely recommend Erik!
Dianne, Zwift and Outdoor rider.
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