Richard Plugge praises Merijn Zeeman's work: "It is comparable to what Erik ten Hag and Louis van Gaal do"

The overall victory of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) in the 2022 Tour de France was one of the greatest sports achievements that a Dutch team has delivered in recent decades. The recently published message that main sponsor Jumbo was reconsidering its future position must have therefore come as a small shock to many Dutch cycling followers and enthusiasts. Nevertheless, team manager Richard Plugge is determined about the (successful) future of the black yellows, he says in an interview for the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

"If Jumbo unexpectedly decides not to continue as title sponsor, which I hope not, then we have several irons in the fire," the ex-journalist is confident. "In 2014, I said that this project will continue and now I say exactly the same. First of all, we sincerely hope that Jumbo will stay with us. It is up to Jumbo to determine their course. Hopefully it is with us, but this team will continue even without Jumbo," said Plugge.

"Everyone at our team works hard every day to get the most out of them," is Plugge's praise of the entire Jumbo-Visma team. Plugge is also very enthusiastic about sports director Merijn Zeeman. "Merijn is an incredibly good coach. When you see who he manages in our organization, that is really special. It's not just the riders, but also the coaches and other staff."

Plugge even draws a comparison with a number of football coaches who are said to belong to the upper echelon of the trainers' guild. "It is comparable to what Erik ten Hag and Louis van Gaal do."