Matteo Jorgenson reveals that he was close to not signing with Visma for 2024 - "I was certainly open to INEOS"

Matteo Jorgenson has been one of the best signings of 2024, as he took a massive leap in performance after joining Team Visma | Lease a Bike. He opened up about ambitions for the 2025 season and that he was also not far from signing with INEOS Grenadiers last winter.

Early in his career, he made his pro debut in the Spanish Movistar structure. "I knew that if I went to Movistar, that if I learned Spanish and could create a bond with the managers, I would make it. I was not a special neo-pro, but they gave me opportunities because I wanted to learn. I did my best, and they saw that," Jorgenson said at the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club. "They had a lot of races where there were no leaders and so I had my own chances. Looking back, it was the best team for the start of my career".

At the end of 2023 his contract was ending, and the American had even spoken about how he was financing his own training camps. It was certain that there would be a departure, and many willing candidates. He reveals actually that besides Visma, he was also in close contact with INEOS Grenadiers:

"I spoke to Rod [Ellingworth]. But I spoke to a lot of teams. I told my agent that I wanted to talk to as many teams as possible. I was certainly open to INEOS, but I am happy with the choice I made". Ultimately it proved the right one, the 25-year old had a storming season with a triumph at Paris-Nice (his new 'home' race), second at the Criterium du Dauphiné, victory at Dwars door Vlaanderenand eighth at the Tour de France whilst supporting Jonas Vingegaard - which also confirms his talent as a Grand Tour contender.

"I have more confidence in myself. Not everything is calculated for you, and you have to take risks. In the last stage of the Dauphiné, Primoz cracked. But I didn't believe in myself, I didn't believe that I could make up a minute on him. That's why I didn't go all out. I also had Derek Gee and others in mind. Normally you think: 'Okay, he cracks, now I'm going full throttle.' I didn't. In the end it was eight seconds. In the last stage of Paris-Nice, I did believe in the victory, and I did". Besides all the results he had, he also put in tremendous rides at the Tour of Flanders, GP de Montréal and Giro dell'Emilia where he didn't finish too well but was at the time the closest rider to Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar respectively when they attacked.

In 2025, he would be a set leader in most teams. In Visma, he will combine leadership with a few support roles, but that's what he's looking for as well: "I wonder about that too. The team is working on the goals of the team. I am interested in doing a Grand Tour, but I am not interested in a leadership role. I would rather do the Tour with Jonas and learn more. I also just really like the Tour. If I were to do the Giro, I would not be able to do the classics and the Tour in the same way. I would rather have a similar year to what I had this year".

The truth is that aiming for a Grand Tour win at the moment, with the level the peloton is having, is quite a big ambition and likely unrealistic for the time being. "After this year's Tour, I would like to ride a classification in a Grand Tour again. That is possible, but I do not know if I can win. But to build up a season for it seems cool to me. Nowadays the gap between me and the top riders is so big that I feel like I need more time. I do not feel like racing for sixth place. I would like to win once, but if Jonas, Remco Evenepoel or Tadej Pogacar are at the start...'

Jorgenson is one of several Americans living in the Nice-Monaco area, and tells that he is quite fond of where he stands currently. "We have a great group now. A lot of us have moved to Nice now, there are seven of us or something. We are close, a lot of us grew up together in the peloton. It's cool, we are from the Lance generation. If you look at the age: we were all young kids when Lance won all his Tours," he concluded.