"I just want to focus one way or another at this point" - Matteo Jorgenson wants to lead Visma at Grand Tours from 2026 onwards

Matteo Jorgenson has evolved tremendously since joining Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Not only has he taken meaningful wins, but the American rider has already proved to be incredibly versatile and a perfect domestique for Jonas Vingegaard. But in the future, he wants to take up his own Grand Tour opportunities.

“If you asked me 12 months ago, I would have said I really want to win a Grand Tour, and I think last year has provided another reality check to make me think if that is really realistic," Jorgenson said in a video shared by Visma.

The 26-year old is now a two-time Paris-Nice winner but on top of that, he has also had a victoriy at Dwars door Vlaanderen; a podium finish at the Criterium du Dauphiné; and Top10 results at both Tour de France and Vuelta a España despite being fully on domestique duty for the Dane. He now raced two three-week races in a row, showing great form at both Tour and Vuelta (although his Tour GC run was wrecked by an illness in the second week).

And this is where he wants to evolve: “If I do want to win a Grand Tour in the future, then I do need to make strides in that direction. I just want to focus one way or another at this point. I have these four years where I can go down a path really far. With the team, I just have to decide what that is.”

The American, whose program will be revealed this Tuesday at Visma's media day in Spain, is likely to race the cobbled classics again next spring as he's shown great legs on both occasions over the past two springs; but it is not impossible to think that he may skip a few in order to focus more on stage-races.

“Grand Tours are for me the biggest races in cycling. I really don’t know if it’s possible and that kind of weighs on my mind, but I’m told by the performance team and the people around me that it is possible and they believe in it, so that helps me believe".

Paris-Nice is likely on his schedule as it's a 'home' race for him, and he is the two-time current champion, but the calendar provides plenty other opportunities for top riders to perform in the one-week races. As he should build towards the Tour de France, the American should be quite busy in the spring.

With Jonas Vingegaard set to do the Giro-Tour double and with Simon Yates retiring from the team; that could give way for a Jorgenson leadership at the Vuelta a España. Leading a Grand Tour is something he wants: “I think in the future, I’d like to. I don’t know if it will be this year or when, but I would like to try to do one as a leader. It might never work out but it would be nice to try. It is a dream for sure.”

Jorgenson has recently signed a new contract until 2029 with Visma, and provides the team with more stability on multiple terraisn. “I needed to feel sustainable in this job that I could do it at this level for four more years before I signed a piece of paper that was committing myself to doing that. It took me a long time to actually agree to my extension. I think it was proposed to me early in the year and it took me months to feel right about it".

However, he seems to have found the perfect balance, and has been a key part of the Dutch team ever since joining it in 2024. He will likely continue to be a key part of it over the coming years.

“It takes a lot of sacrifice to be a cyclist. I was very aware of that this year, of how much I’m giving up in other parts of my life, and I wanted to feel right with that. It felt like a huge moment when I signed the piece of paper. It makes me really happy to have gone through that process in my head, working through my life, and now I have a long-term commitment," he concluded.