Jumbo-Visma are the gold standard in cycling: "Our internal slogan is that we want to write sports history"

Arthur van Dongen, a coach at Jumbo-Visma has revealed how the secret to the team's early season success is the elite mentality within the riders and a desire to "write sports history."

"With how much confidence do we go into the classic spring? 'I think very, very much. But a lot can happen in Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. They won't take this away from us anymore," van Dongen discusses with In de Leiderstrui. "Our internal slogan is that we want to write sports history for the future. I think we're well on our way."

"What exactly does that mean?" he questions before elaborating. "That this will be discussed in the future. That's not to come across as grumpy, but we set the bar very high on all fronts. It is up to us as coaches to keep them sharp on that. I see no danger in that. Those men are professional enough not to loosen the reins now. We have trained hard for months and are not yet satisfied."

This has certainly worked so far in 2023. With seven wins already this season including a one-two at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne through Tiesj Benoot and Nathan Van Hooydonck plus success at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad thanks to Dylan van Baarle, Jumbo-Visma have looked dominant. "These men give each other everything. They go through fire for each other."