Merijn Zeeman sees turning a team with "unsafe working environment" into a world-class structure as "their greatest achievement"

Despite harsh starts, Visma | Lease a Bike has become one of the world's two strongest cycling teams. The direct successor of famous Rabobank was taken over by two men - Richard Plugge and Merijn Zeeman, who together built an empire can be proud of six Grand Tour titles, among other great successes. But the success story ends here as Zeeman accepted an offer to move on from cycling and become the general manager of football club AZ Alkmaar from 2025.

"The Tour de France felt like the final event for me. For me, these are really the last few weeks now, that I now realise that these are the last times. It is double. On the one hand, I am looking forward to something new, but on the other hand, it is saying goodbye to a sport. And even more so, saying goodbye to people with whom I have shared joys and sorrows and experienced so much," Zeeman told In de Leiderstrui ahead of the Vuelta a Espana.

In 12 years with Visma | Lease a Bike, Merijn Zeeman managed to build an empire. However his starts with the team then knows as Belkin were far from idyllic. "Those early years were the hardest," the head sports director told with De Volkskrant about the rough starts. "Actually after Rabobank had stopped as a sponsor. The culture and the atmosphere in the team were in every way the opposite of what you aim for."

"Thwarting each other, gossiping, every man for himself, leaking to the media. It was in very basic things: handing over follow-up cars dirty or not filling up the tank. If you're talking about an unsafe working environment, that's where it was. It was very unpleasant," Zeeman continued. "That we managed to turn that around, I see as our greatest achievement. No more leaning back, no more belittling others, no longer always shooting down every idea."