“Winning the Tour with Jumbo-Visma is a project for which I have also given up a lot" - Missing out on selection for Tour de France winning teams a great regret for Robert Gesink

Now aged 37, Robert Gesink is nearing the end of his career. The Dutch stalwart of Jumbo-Visma has been with the team since 2007 and with him set to retire following the conclusion of the 2024 season, Gesink has taken a trip down memory lane.

"I have always remained loyal to the team and have never seriously considered switching to another team," said Gesink in an in-depth interview with RIDE Magazine. “The death of my father, the problems with heart rhythm disorders and my wife Daisy has struggled with her health for a while. Those were reasons why I didn't want changes in my working environment. Due to all the problems in my private life, I mainly wanted stability and a familiar environment in terms of the team. It also plays a role that the team never let me down during those difficult periods.”

Looking back on his near two decades riding for the Dutch-based outfit, Gesink has performed various roles, from Grand Tour leader to super-domestique and more recently, road captain. During that time, he has also seen the team grow into the dominant force that it is today, although having missed out on selection alongside Jonas Vingegaard in 2022 and 2023, the lack of a Tour de France victory is a source of great regret for the experienced Dutchman.

“I was very disappointed last year that I was not part of the team that won the Tour de France with Jonas Vingegaard. Winning the Tour with Jumbo-Visma is a project for which I have also given up a lot on a personal level in recent years," Gesink says. “That Tour victory would have been the icing on the cake. It was a shame that I was left out of that team. Although I am also proud of how I recovered from that disappointment and subsequently stood again in the Vuelta.”

Staying on for one further year though, the hope is not fully gone that Gesink will be able to ride down the Champs Elysees arm in arm with the Maillot Jaune. "It is very special to now play for the best team in the world. In addition, I did not want to say goodbye to a year where I missed the spring due to a fall in the Tour Down Under and where I had to skip the Giro d'Italia due to a corona infection," he concludes. "But the most important thing is that I still really enjoy cycling and am committed to reaching this high level.”