OFFICIAL: Team Visma | Lease a Bike DS Merijn Zeeman leaves cycling in 2024 - "But first we want to write history together"

A report surged last night that Merijn Zeeman was set to leave cycling at the end of 2024 in order to join football club AZ Alkmaar in 2025 and the news spread around incredibly quickly in the peloton, with reporters also asking Jonas Vingegaard about that possibility this morning at Itzulia Basque Country. With such widespread knowledge of the rumour there was no point in hiding the truth, Team Visma | Lease a Bike confirm the departure of it's DS.

"This is a difficult decision, which I also take with pain in my heart. Precisely because I have this great organization so close to my heart," Zeeman said in a press release. "We have come a long way and together we have made sure that we have become one of the most successful teams in recent years. I am incredibly proud of that. Our culture with our people and our innovative approach has created an amazing development in which we were able to write history together, with the success in 2023 as the absolute highlight."

Zeeman was part of the development of Visma from a regular World Tour team into what is currently widespread agreed to be the most successful team in the peloton, having made history last year by winning all three Grand Tours and specially, having it's three riders take the entire podium of the Vuelta a España. Zeeman has played a key role in supporting and leading Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic, Sepp Kuss, Wout van Aert and many more over recent years as the team surged into success, but that run will end this year as he takes up new challenges.

"Team Visma | Lease a Bike is my family, which I have lovingly put my heart and soul into for 13 years. But I also believe that it is good for everyone's development to look for new challenges and stimuli over time," he says confirming his move to football in 2025. "Continuing my career at football club AZ is my next step and I dare to take that step because I leave our strong professional organization, led by my good friend Richard Plugge, in the capable hands of my colleagues. But first we want to write history together, also in 2024. We are fully engaged in that with a very nice start to the year, and we want to follow that up strongly in the coming months."

"First of all, I am extremely sorry that Merijn, friend and dear colleague, is leaving our organization," team CEO Richard Plugge added. "I understand his rationale and respect his difficult decision. We have built the team together, supported by a strong and loyal group of people, and Merijn has been of inestimable value with his vision and leadership qualities. With his ideas, drive and knowledge he and the right people around him have taken the sport in general and our team in particular to a higher level."

"Merijn's departure hurts on the one hand, but at the same time we have great confidence in our organization, which is solid as a rock. In the coming months we will clarify how our organization will be further structured towards the future and, as always, we will start internally. Of course we will also do everything together to make 2024 a successful year. We are now looking forward to that even more."