10/11/2023

"I suddenly thought: this is really no longer my team" - Jos van Emden felt the need to 'sound the alarm' when hearing of Jumbo-Visma's plans for 2023 season

With the 2023 season reaching its conclusion, Jos van Emden's career as a professional cyclist has also reached its end. Ahead of taking on his new role as coach of the women's team, the 38-year-old has reflected on his final year in the peloton.

It was a year that started tumultuously, as he reveals in conversation with De Rode Lantaarn podcast. "I received my program for this year, and I was not happy with it at all," van Emden explains. "Then I also heard what other boys were going to ride and what the goals of the team were, so I suddenly thought: this is really no longer my team, which I have ridden in for years. I thought I had to sound the alarm. So then I wrote a letter."

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The reason for this uproar? Jumbo-Visma's plan to conquer all three Grand Tours and the related sacrifices that would entail. "There were several things: boys who would not ride a Grand Tour, because they wanted to win all three. I thought that looked good on paper, but in practice... it was such a big goal that it almost became unrealistic," he analysed.

"So many sacrifices were made that were beyond repair," he continues. "For example, Olav Kooij, who deserved a Grand Tour. But Gijs Leemreize, who competed three times for a stage victory in the Giro, was also not going to ride a Grand Tour. We have always trained riders to a higher level, and that completely disappeared. None of those young guys went on to ride a Grand Tour."

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"The initial reaction was not what I hoped for, because I wrote it with the best intentions. It was at the very beginning of the season and I wanted to have another good year," he recalls. "That's what I said: Merijn, I assume you only want yes-men."

Ultimately though, Merijn Zeeman would prove to be right as Jumbo-Visma completed the hat trick. "I sent him a message saying: we're not talking about it anymore," van Emden laughs. "And now he also quotes me in interviews!"