Jumbo-Visma DS Zeeman on the making of Tour de France win - "We were confident that we could make a difference"

One of the masterminds behind the second Jumbo-Visma Tour de France win, DS Merijn Zeeman, was thrilled with the success and has in an extensive interview talked about some of the key moments in the race, preparation, hard decisions and plans to take down Tadej Pogacar.

“That was difficult, but it's not so much about 'You're not going'. This is about a plan, something the athlete wants and what we as a team want," Merijn Zeeman told Wielerflits. "A Tour selection with Primož is always better than without him, as was the case now. But there are more competitions in the year. If you bring two captains to a match, it also means that only one can win. In the end, you always only have one leader. While we would then miss the Giro d'Italia. All things considered, together with Primož I made the decision."

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In the interview Zeeman talked about how the plan with Wout van Aert had been drawn out for a while and the team was ready for his departure from the Tour. He filled his role all the way up to stage 17, and despite missing Primoz Roglic from the lineup as in 2022, the Dutch team managed to have a grip on the fight for the overall classification despite the immensely strong UAE Team Emirates, and conquer the overall classification.

A key moment for the yellow jersey battle, Zeeman points towards the stage 16 time-trial. “The time trial must of course be added to that, that goes without saying. We saved such a big time there, we didn't expect that at all." However he recognizes that the Dutch team faced a stronger Pogacar than that of 2022.

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"We could see from Jonas' numbers and their past fights that Pogačar was also at the very best level ever in those first two weeks. And then we always have to wait and see what happens in the crucial third week. We are constantly making analyzes about this behind the scenes. With the information we have from Jonas, we were confident that we could make a difference then.”

However the third week proved crucial. On a bad day, Tadej Pogacar shed many minutes on the Col de la Loze, and what had been until then a fight for every second saw the gap balloon closer to the 10-minute mark. Pogacar bounced back to win the final mountain stage and still finish second in the overall classification because of the sheer difference they had on the competition on the remaining mountain stages.

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The new goal for the team in the times to come is obvious for Zeeman, who will lead both Roglic and Vingegaard in pursuit of a third Grand Tour win this year: “Very simple, actually: the Vuelta a España. Only then will we evaluate this Tour and start thinking, having conversations and preparing for next year's Tour. So for me the next goal is the Vuelta."

"Whether we are working on becoming the first team ever to win the Giro, the Tour and the Vuelta in one season? You know, when you start a Grand Tour again, you end up taking it day by day anyway. I'm not going to get ahead of that just yet. Let's drink a beer to this first, right?"

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