"I had the privilege to see the team develop from the proverbial ugly duckling" - Former Jumbo-Visma aerodynamic advisor reflects on the team's rise to dominance

Jumbo-Visma are today, the dominant force in Grand Tour cycling. The Dutch-based squad made history in 2023 by becoming the first team to ever win all three Grand Tours in the same year.

They haven't always been so dominant though, and one man who has seen the development from the inside, is former aerodynamics advisor to Jumbo-Visma, Professor Bert Blocken. "I had the privilege to see the team develop from the proverbial ugly duckling in the peloton, one of the weakest teams, in 2013-2016, to the very beautiful swan," Professor Blocken explains. "One of the most successful teams it has been over the past years."

Although he has now left the team to follow other endeavours, most notably at the Heriot-Watt University, to which these quotes can be attributed, Professor Blocken was a key part in the team finally being able to claim their holy grail in 2022, the Maillot Jaune for winner of the Tour de France.

“It had been a long-time goal of the collaboration between Jumbo-Visma and its partners, including myself as their aerodynamic advisor," he recalls. “This Tour de France victory was somewhat unexpected. In 2021 we already had been close but we lost it on the one-but-last day. That was also the biggest disappointment in my career.”