With a 1-liner from soccer, team manager Richard Plugge underlines element of Jumbo-Visma’s eyesight: the energy of the reserve bench establishes whether or not you will come to be champion. In biking this signifies that a team’s next row performs an vital role in accomplishment. All through the ‘Gran Salida’ of the Vuelta a España in the Netherlands, the residence drivers of the second yellow and black bracket consider the opportunity to put themselves in the spotlight for a though.
The day after Robert Gesink, it is Mike Teunissen’s honor to use the leader’s jersey at the Tour of Spain. The brand of the local corporation “Vamos Holanda” is honored. And chief Primoz Roglic watches with fulfillment as his lavish servants have the honor of standing on the podium in their house region.
Just two riders who this year faced the energy in the width of their Jumbo-Visma crew. Two several years back they the two thought they have been a certainty for the Tour team, now they have been overtaken mercilessly by other riders from that second line. To place it merely: in their positions there are now much better riders in the team.
Coach Merijn Zeeman agreed just after the staff time trial: earning tough and sometimes unpleasant conclusions is component of the absolute major activity. Gesink nearly misplaced the will to keep on pedaling at the greatest amount last summer season when he was told he would be disregarded for the Tour de France.
Mike Teunissen requested last summertime, after dropping a put on the Tour crew, what certainties he could get for the upcoming vintage spring. None, was the apparent respond to. Not even a promise that he was guaranteed of a area for the Flemish blockade.
The Limburger, on the other hand, rightly sees itself as more of a runner for races of the caliber of the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe. That is why upcoming winter he will shift to Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, where he will take on the part of shadow leader alongside Biniam Girmay and is certain of a beginning ticket in all the principal races.
“Even although we did not even want to take the value his new crew is willing to spend him,” Plugge details out.
Own ambitions
It tends to make sense that even good riders go away Jumbo-Visma when the team’s plans no more time match the riders’ own ambitions. Taco van der Hoorn managed to stay with Jumbo-Visma two a long time ago, but he chose independence at Intermarché.
Robert Gesink in the purple leader’s jersey with his spouse and children. Photo: Raymond Kerckhoffs
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Plugge: “With our staff, it was Taco’s task to guide the group consistently in the support of the other riders. He also required to operate for his probabilities of him. Thanks to his transfer to Intermarché, he can now do it and on a regular basis is incredibly effective in undertaking so. We have lifted the bar even further “.
The combat for commencing tickets for the 2nd row runners at Jumbo-Visma will only get much more rigorous in the coming yr. Though this is something they applaud by themselves. The more powerful the next line, the better the tension leaders also feel to perform. From the next line you elevate the full team amount to a higher amount.
Plugge said it out loud yesterday right after the arrival of the second stage of the Vuelta: “We are now the 1st group in biking. The place we used to hunt for situation number 1, we now know we will be hunted. To defend that position, you unquestionably have to arm you wide ”.
Internal wrestle
If we glance forward to next year’s Tour de France, it will be an inside battle for those people 8 starting up tickets inside of Jumbo-Visma. The eight who have been so successful on French roadways very last summer time will however be underneath deal next 12 months: Vingegaard, Roglic, Van Aert, Kruijswijk, Kuss, Benoot, Laporte and Van Hooydonck. The newcomers Kelderman, Van Baarle and Tratnik are surely also candidates. And then there are riders like Dennis, Gesink, Bouwman and Oomen who would be guaranteed of a Tour ticket with any other staff.
“Open and truthful communication from the systems of the first season of November”, Plugge phone calls the most critical cement. “Maybe lots of riders view much too significantly in particular races. They generally want to participate and perform at the optimum amount, although it is more realistic that they can excel initially in a diverse race and compete for the primary prizes. “
Richard Plugge and Merijn Zeeman. Picture: Cor Vos
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Plugge takes Koen Bouwman as an example: “Now he wins two stages in the Giro d’Italia and becomes the king of the mountains. What is the chance that he can win the mountain jersey at the Tour de France? And search at Gesink. He was clearly very upset with the Tour de France. But this day in the purple jersey as chief of the Vuelta a España is also a initial prize ”.
3 great excursions
In the summer of 2019, when Tom Dumoulin was replaced by Team Sunweb, Plugge already spoke of his ambition to participate in all three key rounds for ultimate victories in the coming years. In advance of that, they had three leaders at the time with Roglic, Dumoulin and Kruijswijk. In the meantime, Roglic and Vingegaard have tested they can win a Grand Tour and this pair is at present leading the Grand Tours. Nevertheless, the ambition to endeavor overall victory in all three Grand Tours is however alive.
Anybody who listens thoroughly to Jumbo-Visma these days will hear between the lines that the concept is alive with the idea of interpreting Roglic in the two the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France subsequent 12 months. “We will never search into it till November,” Plugge replies diplomatically when questioned this dilemma immediately.
“But suppose we line up Roglic in the Giro d’Italia”, continues Plugge afterwards. “Then you want to make certain he is surrounded far better than three decades in the past when he played for the all round victory in the Giro d’Italia. If you want to engage in in all spots, then that 2nd line will have to be potent ample for almost everything. “
With Gesink and Teunissen in the purple leader’s jersey all through La Vuelta Holanda and Christophe Laporte as the all round winner of the Tour of Denmark, Jumbo-Visma proves that there is also adequate interest for these adult males inside the squad.
Whilst Gesink, Teunissen and Laporte also display the reverse how great they are.
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