29/11/2022

Tobias Foss struggling with Jumbo-Visma position: "It will be difficult to go to the Tour or Giro and ride for my own chances"

Tobias Foss has for many years been a very talented rider, but no-one in the peloton would've seen his time-trial World Championships win back in September. The shocking win meant a complete change in the Norwegian's career, however it doesn't change is position much within Jumbo-Visma.

In an interview with Discovery, Foss admitted that regarding stage-races, "I think we realized that we wanted a bit too much at once. We skipped a few steps. I think it could be good to start from scratch again, do a few good stage races and build up some confidence again." The 25-year old was the winner of the 2019 Tour de l'Avenir, and having been brought up to Elite level, there have been big expectations on his shoulders.

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In 2021 he did manage to ride into 9th position at the Giro d'Italia, but in his three seasons with the Dutch team he hasn't been able to live up to the promise, and in fact he had a relatively absent 2022 until his Worlds win. Having extra attention and reputation in the time-trials will assist him, however with the likes of Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert it won't be plausible for Foss to be leading Jumbo unless he makes all the pieces of the puzzle fit.

Part of that is based on his motivation, and Foss admits that the Grand Tours are still his absolute priority: “A Grand Tour is still my absolute dream, a dream I'm working towards. But at the moment it is more likely that I can win short stage races with an individual time trial.”

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He is currently in a winning team, with Jumbo-Visma having achieved a lot of success this season. However, he will likely also have the lack of opportunities to lead the team in the main races, and Foss is aware. “If I want to pursue a career as a GC leader in the grand tours, I have to realize that it will be difficult to go to the Tour or Giro and ride for my own chances. There are so many other good leaders here," he concluded.