"We believe he can still improve his level" - Visma coach Heijboer on Jonas Vingegaard's Giro-Tour double

Team Visma | Lease a Bike's media day provided an opportunity to learn about the team's schedules, goals, opinions of the riders and much more. Amongst the many names who were active throughout the afternoon in La Nucia was Mathieu Heijboer, head coach in the Dutch team, and one of the men responsible for the preparation of Jonas Vingegaard for his first attempt at a Giro-Tour double.

"I'm responsible for all aspects related to preparing for the team's major goals. This mainly concerns training, nutrition, and equipment," Heijboer said to Cyclism'Actu. "My role also involves coordinating the performance team, guiding coaches and experts to identify innovations, improve our training methods, optimize nutrition programs, and ensure our riders are in the best possible condition for major events".

Whilst Vingegaard works directly with his coach Tim Heemskerk, in 2025 the development of a GC specialist is something divided into many different fields, each of them indispensable for the riders' ability to perform at the highest level. Visma's attention to detail and raising the bar is one of the most notable aspects of the 2020's, of which Heijboer was an important part of, as the man who organizes the team's main Grand Tour blocks and how they work towards them.

But aside from training, logistics and recovery, he names nutrition as the key player in the sport's evolution over recent years - This could also be observed in the way new team rider Filippo Fiorelli talked about his nutrition since joining the team recently.

"This is where the difference between cycling a few years ago and today is most striking. Of course, equipment has evolved, as have training methods, but the biggest transformation remains nutrition. Speeds have increased, everyone rides faster, and nutrition plays a central role in this progress".

Progress is something that is obtained by the year in most teams, but in a sport that is already so efficient and where so many aspects are already pushed to the limit, it's not easy to know where the next breakthrough in development will be. The Dutchman presents his opinion however: "Equipment will obviously continue to evolve, but I think the most significant gains will continue to come from optimizing existing processes, particularly around nutrition and training load management".

Heijboer had a say in whether Jonas Vingegaard should attempt the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France consecutively. His outlook on the proposal was positive: "Jonas already has experience with a Tour de France-Vuelta double, which he did very well. Each time, he was extremely strong in the second Grand Tour. This experience gives him confidence, but it also gives us, the staff, confidence. The data we have, combined with his experience, shows that he can perform very well in the Tour after the Giro, perhaps even better".

The attempt is not going to be an experiment, but rather Visma will try to replicate what has been done in the past in both 2023 and 2025, only with a Vingegaard that is more experienced, mature, and perhaps stronger. The team has carefully designed his schedule which will include the UAE Tour, the Volta a Catalunya, and an altitude camp before both Giro and Tour in order to try and perform at his best level in both three-week races.

"We have to be very careful not to accumulate too many race days before the Giro. The idea is to limit mental and physical stress at the start of the season. We want him to arrive mentally and physically fresh for the key moments of the year," he explains. "That's why we prioritize long training periods, with altitude training camps, so that he's fully focused and performs well throughout both the Giro and the Tour".

Above all, the team hope that he stays healthy throughout the upcoming spring, and prevent massive crashes that have hampered him and his development in both previous years. "It's important to remember that the 2024 season was difficult for Jonas, with a serious crash and a long recovery period. The 2025 season allowed him to regain consistency, with two Grand Tours completed, a quick return to training, and a much more stable preparation".

Reaching or beating Tadej Pogacar is hard to imagine, but not impossible, and the Dane is the only one who has been able to do it in a Grand Tour this decade. "All of this gives us a lot of confidence. We believe he can still improve his level and reach, or even surpass, current standards in the mountains," he concluded.