He took the step and broke out of the shell. The American finally gained the confidence he wanted, and together with great form he performed immensely and into a leadership position at
Movistar Team. He rode to second at the Tour de Romandie consolidating himself as a very strong one-week stage-racer, and was close to a maiden Tour de France stage win at the Puy de Dôme. His transfer to Jumbo-Visma, who were dominating the calendar, was at first seen by many as him neglecting a leadership spot, but his idea is elsewhere, as he seeks to improve himself with this three-year deal.
“I was on a contract year so I recognized it as an opportunity to move up,” he said. “For a while, you can’t really control how your body progresses, so in my first couple of years as a pro I was doing everything right, but I didn’t have the ability to win races. I just wasn’t that good. Last year at the Tour, I realized, I think I can do it. And then I had a perfect winter and preparation, I worked super hard and had the confidence that I was doing things right. I was training right. It made the investment really easy for me. With the difference in team budgets, I wanted to do it myself and try to at least fill in the gaps that I could control and, at least, arrive at the races in the best shape that I can.”
Now he will be part of the team that has won the most in 2023, and impressed the most too. Not only that but he will be teaming up with
Sepp Kuss, who recently became the first American Grand Tour winner in 10 years. “I’m super excited. He seems like a super good dude. I don’t really know super well, we have a big difference in age," he says of him soon-to-be teammate. "But I think it’d be really cool to be on a team with him. I’m just looking forward to it a lot. Just to be there in the next couple of years with him and be able to race with him hopefully I think will be pretty cool.”
“I was in contact with a couple different teams, and I chose Jumbo, because I think our mentalities line up the closest. From what I can tell they’re 100 percent invested in performance. And they spend most of their budget and trying to get the most out of the riders and have the most staff and perform the best. So for me, it just seemed like an easy decision." Meanwhile at Movistar, he said this season that he has spent his own money to go on training camps planned by himself early in the year.
"I’d really like to just see the best out of myself, that’s what I’m most motivated to do. Whether that’s getting the best out of myself and helping someone else win a race or trying to do it for myself. For me, it’s more about seeing, the best version of myself. That’s what I’m most excited for and that’s kind of what gets me up in the morning," he concluded.
