"The atmosphere is completely different than what is said" - Attila Valter assures there's no leadership conflict within Jumbo-Visma

After the nineteenth stage of the Vuelta a España, Attila Valter shed some light on the much-discussed situation surrounding the Jumbo-Visma classification riders. The Hungarian felt compelled to refute the messages on social media suggesting unrest in the team.

"The atmosphere is completely different than what is said," he said at Eurosport. "There are no hard feelings and we will stay together. I still need time to realize what we have achieved. This is historic. You can think whatever you want about our team, but I am very proud. We are really enjoying this as a team. We have eight super-motivated riders," said Valter.

Read also

Medical Report Vuelta a Espana 2023 | Final update stage 21

The 25-year-old rider also addressed the controversy surrounding the team tactics of the Dutch formation. "All opinions are annoying. I wish I hadn't looked at social media. There are too many opinions, everyone considers themselves a team leader. It is easy to judge from the outside," he explained.

"The team has to give them the freedom to race for victory. Everyone likes to see Sepp Kuss win, but when you are a champion like Primoz Roglic, you also want to keep going for the win. In the end, everyone is happy with Kuss in red, including Roglic," he continued.

Read also

"The last mountain top finish in the Tour that I won, Froomey was allowed to attack me! What's with that?" - Geraint Thomas empathises with Sepp Kuss as he recalls his own experiences of being attacked by a teammate

Valter also spoke about the penultimate stage of the Vuelta on hilly terrain. "It will be an important stage. It's going to be very difficult. It's a strange stage. If there are three long climbs, we can easily hold our own with three such strong riders, but tomorrow it will be difficult to control. We will be attacked from all sides," he concluded.

Read also

"I'm getting a bit tired of all that bullsh*t" - Robert Gesink fumes at criticism of Jumbo-Visma tactics

"They both came to the Vuelta with the intention of winning" - Marc Reef admits it must have been difficult for Roglic and Vingegaard to put aside personal goals at La Vuelta