"The responsibility, of course, is immense" - Jan Tratnik on the duties and responsibilities of being a domestique for the likes of Vingegaard and van Aert

Jan Tratnik is currently one of the most prominent domestiques in the peloton and is having an incredibly packed schedule this year. He will support the likes of Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert, and tells about his experience in doing so.

"One could say, Yes. In today's cycling it is super important to have the best on hand: the best material, the best riders, the best staff... Everything. Otherwise, it is very difficult to be competitive or fight for victory, for example in the Tour de France," Tratnik said in an interview with Relevo. "And all that, of course, costs a lot of money. Hence ideas arise such as merging teams. If you have a stronger leader, better teammates and better material, you will be closer to winning, and teams never stop looking for new ways to get there."

Training methods are the main proponent of the Dutch team's current outlook, alongside having chemistry within the team. Hence they have been the most successful team of the 2023 season despite having a smaller budget than that of UAE Team Emirates and INEOS Grenadiers. He is rarely a leader within the team, and tells how being in a supportive role can be just as demanding: "In this new cycling, if you are a domestique you have to be from the first day of the season until the last. You need to work, work and work."

"You don't have that day of rest where you can say, well, I'm going to take it easier today. You always have to be focused on the leader, without exceptions. If the stage is flat, you do it next to him. If he stops to pee, you stop with him. You need a huge level of concentration. And the responsibility, of course, is immense, especially for me, because I am a regular rider on all terrains, whether on the flat, uphill or on demanding days, in the so-called boring stages."

However it clearly works. The Dutch team has won all three Grand Tours - with Tratnik being part of one, and is this year focusing just as much in winning a monument. The cobbled classics specifically will be a priority - and he will be a key part of the lineup, with the opening weekend now coming up being a big test for the team's leaders.

On what makes the differences between Visma and the other teams, he replies: "Every rider, even if he is the worst on the team, receives the same support as Jonas [Vingegaard] or Sepp [Kuss]. We all have the best training plans, the best nutritionists and we do the same recovery. If they are going to work at altitude to prepare for the Tour or La Vuelta, the entire team preselected for that race is going to do the same preparation with them."

Last year he was forced to miss out on the Giro d'Italia due to injuries suffered after being hit by a car, but he does not look back at it with anger as the team accomplished the goal it had set out to despite some adversity in the days leading up to it. "... They managed it very well. Primoz was strong enough until the end and was able to win the Giro d'Italia. Even though I saw him from home, he made me very happy."

The Slovenian is aware that throughout this season, in a domestique role, he will have a very tough job. Not only because of the expectations put on the team, but because other teams will be directly racing against Visma and controlling races will be o the shoulders of riders such as Tratnik. "Yes, it's true, but to be honest, in all the races that Jonas [Vingegaard] is in, they are going to look at us... We will have to know how to defend ourselves from all those attacks, it is going to be a huge challenge."