Team Visma | Lease a Bike's excellent start to the season "extra special because we lost Primoz Roglic" says Merijn Zeeman

Team Visma | Lease a Bike have picked up right where they left off in the early part of 2024, maintaining their dominance of stage races with a number of other wins scattered in.

Understandably, sports director, Merijn Zeeman is delighted with what he is seeing. “The stats say it’s the best season start ever, and we were very proud to know that we’re the first team to win Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico in the same year, which is of course very special,” Zeeman said delightedly in conversation with GCN. 

One of the brightest points of this year for Visma has been the impressive performances of their new signings such as Bart Lemmen, Cian Uijtdebroeks and Paris-Nice winner, Matteo Jorgenson. “It makes it extra special because we lost Primoz Roglic and no one thought that on paper we’d fight for the win in both races (Paris-Nice & Tirreno-Adriatico ed.) without him," Zeeman says. "Matteo took a huge step forward, and he made the impossible, possible.”

Whilst Jorgenson was impressing in France, Jonas Vingegaard was dominating in Italy with many saying the Dane is looking better than ever. “Some days earlier they said the same about Tadej Pogacar in Strade Bianche, and I think they are right,” Zeeman explains. “When they are on parcours like this, they’re both very special riders. Both of them are super strong and Jonas finished off some very strong teamwork in Tirreno and had an attack that no one could respond to. That’s very promising to see.”

There has been one blow though, a fractured collarbone to Wilco Kelderman. "We had a big training block for him coming up, no other races, apart from the Ardennes. It’s a collarbone break and it can go well but it can take a while too with pain, so the coming weeks will decide,” Zeeman says of his vastly experienced rider.

“Unfortunately, he has a lot of experience in these sorts of comebacks but that can be an advantage. He knows better than anyone else what it takes to come back to his best level. He’s had a lot of broken bones in his career, and this isn’t the first time it’s happened. I remember being with him in Catalunya one year, maybe in 2019, when the same thing happened," Zeeman concludes. “It’ll be hard to have another rider like Wilco, because he’s one of the best GC riders in the world and we’d miss him a lot. He’s still the first option but if he can’t make it then we’ll look at options."