"Now they’re the reference point" - INEOS Grenadiers head coach praises Jumbo-Visma's 2023 dominance and cites similarities to former Team Sky

In terms of Grand Tour racing in 2023, one team stood out from the crowd. Jumbo-Visma made cycling history, securing all three Grand Tours and their spot as the team to beat in the peloton going forward.

A few years ago, the team to beat was Team Sky. Powered by the success of the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal, the British-based outfit competed for victory in almost every race. Now named INEOS Grenadiers, things have slowed somewhat in the past seasons, thanks in part to the rise of Jumbo-Visma, as head coach Xabier Artetxe admits to Cycling News.

“It’s not possible to win the three by chance, because even winning one is very difficult and doesn’t happen through good luck. You have to have a clear leader, a clearly structured team and no bad luck in terms of crashes, health and so on," he says. “But they didn’t win simply because they didn’t fall off or get sick. They did it because they have great riders and strong leaders, because of the all-around quality of the riders."

"Just look at the teammates in the Vuelta - the defending champions of the Giro and Tour, no more and no less - and their teammate, and leader, who is one of the best climbers in the world," Artetxe continues. “They had team workers like Robert Gesink and Wilco Kelderman who have both been on the podium of Grand Tours. On top of that, a rider like Dylan Van Baarle who’s won Paris-Roubaix, been World Championships runner-up and who’s a huge all-rounder - as, given he was formerly an Ineos rider, we know very well ourselves. It’s an amazing team."

Whilst Sky/INEOS were once the pioneers of the marginal gains system, Jumbo-Visma have now taken that method to another level. “Little by little they’ve gone on building it all up, like we did in Sky, adding in more and more details. At the same time, they’ve got a big, solid pool of 10 to 12 riders they know they can depend upon for Grand Tours. So just as a while back we were a reference point for a lot of teams, now they’re the reference point that teams are looking at,” Artetxe acknowledges in conclusion.

As Jumbo-Visma also go through a similar change to that of Artetxe's team, changing from Jumbo-Visma to Team Visma | Lease a Bike, can they continue to plow ahead with their dominance in the coming years? Only time will tell.