Visma is a house for veterans - 18 years maximum, which riders have spent the most time with the Dutch team?

Team Visma | Lease a Bike is a structure that has lasted for several decades now in the world of cycling and it continues to function as a top team, although it has changed names plenty times over the years. With over 40 years of existence, there is room for a few riders to have spent most of their entire career in the team - and some did indeed. But who has spent the most time in the Dutch team's colours?

The answer is Robert Gesink, who only retired last year at the end of an entire 18 years with the team. The very definition of a veteran, in the late 2000's Gesink was one of the most promising stage-racers in the peloton and often a leader for the (at the time) Rabobank team. Up until 2015, he was a top rider in the Grand Tours and that year he was sixth at the Tour de France, but then as new talents began emerging and his many injuries began to take a toll, the Dutchman turned into a domestique. But he did so perfectly, becoming a road captain and valuable figure to teach the young riders the necessary abilities to compete at the highest level. From 2016 to 2024 he was in this role with Visma, all the way into his retirement.

In second place is the rider that is currently still active that has been with the team for longest: Steven Kruijswijk. 16 seasons with the Dutch team already, and Kruijswijk is the exact same type of rider as Gesink when it comes to his history in the peloton. He joined the team in 2010 but this was already after three years in the development team, and he hasn't raced for any other team since. In 2026 he will turn 39 years of age and finish his 17th season with the team which puts him close to Gesink's record. Kruijswijk is also a Grand Tour specialist turned reliable domestique, who has remained committed to the job despite next year reaching the 10-year anniversary of his heartbreaking Giro d'Italia loss due to a crash in the final week.

Tied in third place are two riders that are also perfectly familiar to current cycling fans. One is Jos van Emden, who has retired in 2023 but was also part of the Dutch team for 15 years (alongside three others in the development team). In this time he has taken 14 pro wins including one at the Giro d'Italia and one at the Chrono des Nations, both in the final half of his career.

The second is Grischa Niermann, now 50 years old, but part of Visma's management team. For many years he was the one who led the charts with 15 years under his belt, racing from 1998 up until his retirement in 2012. Niermann is the rider who has raced the most in the team out of those that competed in the 20th century. He has been a sports director for Visma's women's team, development team and since 2017, the elite team where he takes on a key role all-year long.