"A third victory at the Tour de France would have been the icing on the cake" - Merijn Zeeman looks back at his last Tour as Visma's head DS

Sixteen years ago, Merijn Zeeman wouldn't have dared to dream of a Tour de France victory, let alone becoming the world's best team. Back when Skil - Shimano debuted at the Tour in 2009, a couple top 10s in sprint stages were the maximum possible. In 2023, Visma | Lease a Bike achieved unthinkable when they won all three grand tours with three different riders.

Yet there's still a bit of bittersweetness in Zeeman's voice when he speaks to NOS about his last Tour de France before moving over to football world. "A third victory at the Tour de France would have been the icing on the cake, but since Jonas' crash at the Itzulia Basque Country I haven't really thought about it for a moment. Overall victory was never really within reach."

Still, Vingegaard performed well in France. In stage eleven, the tide seemed to turn. Pogacar fell back a bit and Vingegaard was able to profit. The Dane even beat his competitor in the final sprint. "There was a fire burning then: could we do it after all?"

"Unfortunately, we got the answer quite quickly. It started to come to life, but you also know in the back of your mind that the base is very narrow. And in the end, we also saw that Pogi is in great shape and has a super good team." Because where Visma has improved, so has UAE. "They have improved a lot this year in the way they race, that's clear."

After fourteen times at the Tour de France, it is now time for a different challenge for Zeeman. "I will not miss the extreme fatigue. It is also a full month every year that I am away from my family. I am looking forward to being home a bit more."