“I realized my body can perform at a high level for three weeks" - Matteo Jorgenson wants Grand Tour leadership after impressive debut year at Visma
Cycling
Matteo Jorgenson impressed throughout his debut season at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, picking up notable victories at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Paris-Nice. It's arguably at the Tour de France this summer though, that the American made the most lasting impression.
As such, Jorgenson is optimistic about his future as a Grand Tour rider over the course of the coming years. “One day, I hope to compete for the general classification in a Grand Tour,” says the 25-year-old in an official team press release on the Visma website. “I say that because I’ve somewhat changed my perspective this year. During the Tour, I didn’t have a single bad day. Of course, there were tougher moments, but I never cracked. Especially in the third week, I felt very comfortable.”
Competition for Grand Tour leadership at Visma is arguably as fierce as at any team in the peloton with the likes of Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss, Cian Uijtdebroeks and new signing Simon Yates all potential candidates. Jorgenson is confident though, he can impress if and when he's given leadership opportunities himself. “This year, I realized my body can perform at a high level for three weeks. That was something I wasn’t sure about in the past,” he says.
Ultimately though, his hard work in service of Vingegaard couldn't help bring the Dane a third consecutive Maillot Jaune. “On the Plateau de Beille, we realized as a team that we had given everything to try and win the Tour again, but it just wasn’t enough. It was a long climb, and I listened to Grischa Niermann guiding Jonas through that tough moment,” he reflected.
“This year was a dream in so many ways,” Jorgenson adds. “I pushed boundaries I didn’t know were possible, thanks to the team’s efforts and my commitment to sticking to the plan as closely as possible.”
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- Depends, the guy is known for it, some let him others clearly tell him where to stick it. You didn’t watch it did you? I’m sure in some cases he kind of asks and why should a rider mind someone riding behind during normal rides, it’s kind of the norm in this sport. On the other hand, if you’re busy concentrating on a specific training session, obviously anything is going to distract you and the guy has to respect that. Yes, he’s kind of tacky but no worse than any paparazzi, and he has made this his “profession” it seems. Like you say, no class at all.Mistermaumau04-01-2025
- And haven’t we kind of forgotten, a certain WVA, no-one is analysing what he could add to the sauce.Mistermaumau04-01-2025
- Yes, you have to respect him for a few things and call him out on others. He obviously didn’t see the need to progress over the years from his comment on “normal” men, had he said an old-fashioned 70y old it would have gone down positively.Mistermaumau04-01-2025
- Everyone on Armstrong's team doped. It was a prerequisite for joining and getting the big money.Sweep04-01-2025
- Happy for him he can see he’s still got it after all those difficulties.Mistermaumau04-01-2025
- He telling the truth, he is outspoken, like him or not he's brought a lot to cycling.awp04-01-2025
- Nice!awp04-01-2025
- He could potentially win the Giro again, although if Jonas races the Giro he would have to have sickness or a bad crash to let Primoz pass him, but the Tour is out of his sights, he missed his chance in 2020. Too much top competition at the Tour, but he could possibly score a top five but more realistically a top ten at his age.awp04-01-2025
- a hello and selfie is fine, but 19 mins of filmed stalking, seriously?? absolutely ridiculous. no class. training is part of their jobs, leave them be. stop turning them against the fans. effing idiot.BalberdoBonkador04-01-2025
- A very good mental victory for Wout tooRide197404-01-2025