Jonas Vingegaard loses long-time trainer as Tim Heemskerk leaves Team Visma | Lease a Bike amid disrupted 2026 build-up

Jonas Vingegaard’s already disrupted start to the 2026 season has been reshaped again, this time behind the scenes.

Tim Heemskerk, the performance coach who worked closely with the Dane for much of his rise to the top of the sport, is leaving Team Visma | Lease a Bike after eight years.

On its own, the departure reads as a natural professional reset. In context, it adds another layer of change to a season that has so far been defined less by planning than by adaptation.

Vingegaard’s winter has already been interrupted by a training crash, followed by illness and the late decision to withdraw from the UAE Tour. That sequence compressed his race calendar to just three events across the entire year. Now, the coach most closely associated with his training development is stepping away as well.

Heemskerk framed his decision as a personal one, pointing to the creative demands of elite performance coaching. “Over the past period, I have noticed that I was struggling to continue applying my creativity and passion, which are important to me in my work as a coach,” he said in a team statement. “That was the moment for me to be honest with myself and with the team.”

The Dutch coach worked with Visma for eight years and was part of the performance structure overseen by Mathieu Heijboer. During that time, he played a role in shaping the training philosophy that underpinned the team’s Grand Tour success, including Vingegaard’s emergence as a Tour de France contender and champion.

“I look back with pride on the growth of the team, myself, and the riders, including of course Jonas,” Heemskerk added, underlining the personal nature of the relationship.

From Visma’s perspective, the message is one of continuity. Heijboer described Heemskerk as “a major” contributor to both the team’s training philosophy and its sporting results, while stressing that the wider performance system remains intact. “Over the past period, I have had many conversations with Tim, and I believe this is the best outcome,” Heijboer said.

What remains unclear, however, is how the change lands for Vingegaard specifically. The team confirmed that the riders previously under Heemskerk’s supervision will be assigned another performance coach internally, but did not name a successor or outline whether the transition is temporary or permanent.

In a season where margins are already tight, that lack of detail inevitably draws attention. Vingegaard’s preparation for 2026 is already operating without much buffer, with only one race before the Giro d’Italia and a compressed pathway towards a double Grand Tour target.

None of this suggests a crisis. Visma’s performance structure is designed to be robust, and Heemskerk’s departure has been handled calmly and professionally. Yet taken alongside everything else, it reinforces a clear pattern.

Vingegaard’s season is being shaped by adjustments rather than by a clean, uninterrupted build. The crash removed training continuity. Illness removed his planned season opener. Analysts have questioned the risks of a three-race calendar. Senior figures have publicly asked for greater clarity around his situation. Now, a long-standing element of his preparation environment is changing as well.

Individually, each development is manageable. Collectively, they narrow the room for error.

For a rider whose success has been built on precision, repeatability, and control of detail, 2026 is already asking different questions. Whether the underlying system absorbs those changes seamlessly or whether they begin to show at the margins will only become clear once Vingegaard finally returns to racing.