"I had always said that I wanted to quit with him" - Marc Lamberts cites Primoz Roglic departure and Team Visma | Lease a Bike's unrivalled success as the key reasons he joined BORA - hansgrohe

In a busy window of transfer dealings between Team Visma | Lease a Bike and BORA - hansgrohe, Primoz Roglic had swapped yellow for green with Cian Uijtdebroeks going the other way, the fact Marc Lamberts, former coach of Wout van Aert also left Visma for BORA could easily be forgotten.

"He absolutely wanted me to go with him. Besides, I had always said that I wanted to quit with him," says Lamberts of his relationship with Roglic in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad. "We know each other so well. His manager even negotiated for me," he reveals. 

Key to the development of Wout van Aert during his time at Visma, Lamberts is a great loss to the team's backroom staff. Alongside his desire to leave with Roglic, the continued dominance of Visma over the last few years, has somewhat cooled Lamberts excitement. This move to BORA - hansgrohe poses as a new kind of challenge.

"I have had eight wonderful years at Jumbo, but in recent years I have increasingly asked myself the question: what did I enjoy most? The first four years as the team grew, we continuously brainstormed and built our training vision? Or the last four years when there was a well-oiled machine? The answer was always the first," he explains.

"It is no coincidence that I have never worked for the same company in the pharmaceutical industry for more than five years. I have always believed that I perform best when I can build something up, manage it, and help it grow," Lamberts concludes. "Actually, the environment at Jumbo had become too perfect for me. Which also reassures me. Because I know that I am leaving Wout in good hands. But if I wanted to challenge myself again at my age and be confronted with new things, it was now or never."