American Matteo Jorgenson admits dream of fighting for Grand Tour results - "My opinion on riding GC has changed a little bit"

Matteo Jorgenson's transfer from Movistar to Team Visma | Lease a Bike was without a doubt one of the most successful of the winter. The American has taken a big step up and his performances have been so good that he admits he dreams of fighting for Grand Tour results himself.

"I think after the Tour de France, my opinion on riding GC has changed a little bit. I saw, at least in the Tour, that I didn't have any days where I was exceptionally bad," Jorgenson said in an interview with CyclingWeekly. "I had some bad days, there's no doubt, but I didn't have any day where I really just lost everything, and I felt really good, especially in the third week, which for me has never been the case before. So I think I would like that challenge at some point in my career to go for GC in a Grand Tour. I don't know whether that's next year or in three years, but I would like to try it at least one time."

Jorgenson was a classics rider and talented all-rounder in the Spanish team, but ever since making the switch to Visma his performance increased significantly - which is the case for several riders, in an environment that is known to be superior to that of many other lower-level World Tour squads. He took the victory in the overall classification of Paris-Nice ahead of Remco Evenepoel and finished second only to Primoz Roglic at the Criterium du Dauphiné.

Besides also winning Dwars door Vlaanderen which confirmed that he has also taken a step up in the cobbled classics; he also confirmed his potential as a Grand Tour contender by finishing eighth at the Tour de France, despite being on a support role for Jonas Vingegaard. The 25-year old's versatility and consistency has been proven and he is the Visma leader that has managed to avoid injuries or illnesses this year and has performed since the start of the year, unlike all other team leaders.

"It was just what I wanted. It was almost just an accomplishment joining the team. I had it in my mind for a long time that I wanted to join the best team I possibly could, just because I know how the sport works, and I know that you need resources and support to get to your best level," he continues. "So I was even willing to join a team where I wouldn't have as many opportunities if I could try to take advantage of the resources and the support team at my disposal". 

Visma is the team that currently does this the best; having riders such as Cian Uijtdebroeks last winter as well, and now Simon Yates and Victor Campenaerts who willingly take on support roles or even smaller salaries in order to join the Dutch team who have often gotten the best out of their riders. Being a pro rider is a 365-day a year job and Jorgenson is aware that "it's just difficult to do things on your own, especially in this sport, you can't do everything on your own." Although he is certainly not referring to this fact, the American admitted last year with Movistar that he himself financed his own training camps in search of performance. 

"It's been everything that I've dreamed of so far, or even more. Paris-Nice is definitely the biggest moment and will be something I remember forever," he added, noting that Nice became his new home. "Just thinking about it now makes me happy, but that was the big big highlight. There were other really good moments, but the biggest was Paris-Nice." 

"I think I've done almost every race I would like to. I would like to do Strade Bianche again at some point. But the problem is, with it being so close to Paris-Nice, I don't think that's ever going to be a possibility. I will never skip Paris-Nice, if possible," he concluded.