Jumbo-Visma have stated their athlete Lennard Hofstede will return to competition as he was separated from the team after refusing to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
The 27-year old Dutchman from Jumbo Visma is an important piece within Jumbo-Visma, having helped Primoz Roglic into his hattrick of Vuelta a España titles, and was revealed to have refused Covid-19 vaccination which was for several months put him out of contact with the rest of the team. Jumbo-Visma followed a strict schedule which saw most of it's leaders for three weeks atop Mount Teide in Tenerife, split into groups to minimize as much as possible the risk of an infection.
"We had regulations in different countries and UCI rules, we didn't want to take any risk at the time. With a view to vaccinations, we had a straightforward medical policy, that was before Omicron [variant]," team managed Merijn Zeeman in an interview with Wielerflits. Hofstede was reported to be excluded from the team's pre-season training camps, aswell as the racing schedule, that is however set to change as Zeeman adds that he's scheduled to return at the Minerva Classic Brugge-De Panne on 23rd of March.
The lesser gravity within cases of the recent Omicron variant has had the team change it's restrictions on Hofstede: "Most riders cannot train for a week, but then they pick up again. They recover well, in contrast to previous years. You can see that the bubble in the peloton no longer works, there are now many more infections during a race on a bicycle," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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