Rather than accepting leadership opportunities at smaller teams, Matteo Jorgenson has committed his long-term future to Team Visma | Lease a Bike, extending his contract until at least 2029.
The 25-year-old American, who has rapidly become one of the sport’s rising stars, believes the Dutch WorldTeam offers the ideal environment to pursue his growing ambitions.
“I felt at home here straight away, and I don’t see any other team where I can work with the same trust and calmness as I do here,” Jorgenson said. “It honestly felt like an easy decision.”
Jorgenson is only in his second season with the powerhouse team, but the results reflect a promising partnership. Since joining Visma | Lease a Bike, he has claimed back-to-back overall victories at Paris-Nice, a win at Dwars door Vlaanderen, second overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné, and an eighth-place finish at the Tour de France.
“Winning Paris-Nice twice was something I never thought was possible before I joined this team. It has changed my goals and ambitions and allowed me to dream bigger," the Idaho-native said.
Big dreams, big plans
(Image credit: Getty Images)
With riders like Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss, Simon Yates and Wout van Aert in their midst, competition for a leadership role within the Team Visma | Lease a Bike team is undeniably fierce. A rider of Jorgenson’s caliber could have easily secured a Grand Tour leader role at various other teams.
Yet, instead of seeking a clearer path elsewhere, Jorgenson has chosen to double down on his development within Visma’s high-performance environment.
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"The mentality within the team matches mine and so does the way of working”, said Jorgenson. “For a rider like me, who pays a lot of attention to small details, it’s really important to work in an environment where you can trust everyone around you. I’ve found that here, with the coaches, sports directors, food coaches, management, and all the other specialists. They look at the details even more closely than I ever could, which allows me to focus fully on my job: training and racing.”
And the team, for its part, has made it clear that bigger opportunities lie ahead for Jorgenson.
"It was our priority to secure Matteo for the long term. Matteo is a very important rider for us in both the Grand Tours and the Classics. We have big plans with him, and we’re happy he has committed his future to us," said Grischa Niermann, Head of Racing.
Earlier this year, after securing his second Paris-Nice title, Jorgenson told Cycling Weekly that the conversations around his role had shifted significantly.
"Last year the team asked me if it was something I wanted, to race a Grand Tour as leader. And yes, it is something in my career that now is a goal," he said. "Before, it was one of those goals that seemed almost impossible. I never thought I could win Paris-Nice and now I've won twice. Now it's time to set the bar higher. I can't say that I'm capable of winning a Grand Tour, but at least I want to try. I want to work towards that."
Inside the team, Jorgenson’s evolution is a key part of a broader strategy. With so much depth in their roster, Visma has built flexibility into its approach, developing multiple leaders capable of stepping up in the event of crashes, illness or other unpredictable setbacks that can derail a Grand Tour campaign.
Speaking after Paris-Nice, sports director Frans Maassen suggested that Jorgenson is now among those back-up leaders, having firmly established himself as “one of the best riders in the world.”
“You saw it everywhere last year. He did some great efforts in the Tour and showed that he can ride the Classics. [And at Paris-Nice] I think everyone has seen that Matteo was the best rider in the race," Maassen said.
"Definitely he can play a bigger role in Grand Tours. He's a very good, very talented rider and we will see much more from him in the next few years."
For Jorgenson, the contract extension represents a commitment not just to the team, but to himself and his pursuit of bigger things
"I’ve set ambitious goals for the next four years and want to make this the peak of my career," he said.
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Cycling Weekly'sNorth American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.
Originally from the Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon, she became a full-time cycling journalist. She's now been a journalist for two decades, including 12 years in cycling.
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