On the podium in Madrid after La Vuelta on September 17, An image remains in the memory that will be impossible to forget: three runners from the same team occupying the three places on the podium. And, perhaps, the most impressive photo took place at the Las Rozas racecourse, minutes before setting off for the 21st and final stage of the Spanish round in its 2024 edition, with Sepp Kuss, the surprise winner of La Vuelta, Jonas Vingegaard, second, and Primoz Roglič, third, He got off the bus from then Jumbo, now Visma, with three different jerseys: red, yellow and pink respectively. That is, his achievements in the Vuelta, the Tour and the Giro. From another world and something never seen before: victories in the three grand tours of the same campaign with the same team and three different riders, with a podium culmination with Cibeles of Madrid. This was the last day of happiness for Visma so far. Since then, everything has changed, and not exactly for the better.
To start with, there was an obvious loss: Primoz Roglič to Bora. The Vuelta finished on September 17 and before the end of the month, the Slovenian announced he was leaving after eight seasons. Will what he experienced at La Vuelta have an impact, where the Slovenian was looking for his fourth success and had to ‘settle’ for third place? Apparently everything added up, and Kuss himself spoke of a “strong conversation” after Angliruwhere his companions left him. That was the night before and after. Roglic already knew he couldn’t win La Vuelta, plans changed and he was looking for new challenges. On September 30, at the Giro dell’Emilia, where he announced his goodbye at the start, he entered the finish line first with his arms raised. An unbeatable farewell.
Thus came the winter season, the failed fusion with Soudal And the team that had made history by winning three grand tours in a single season was left without another sponsor, Because Jumbo was going to “refinish” after so much time. Appeared rent a bike To name another, more new faces also arrived at Visma (the new main name), notably Jorgensen from Movistar, who delivered results from day one, scoring victories like the one through Flanders and, above all, a Paris-Nice one. big words. A good result (he also won the Dauphiné) and very good feelings on the part of the team that planned to go with Van Aert to the Giro, Vingegaard (as leader) and Kuss to the Tour, and with Kuss (at the front), Van Aert and, probably, Vingegaards to La Lape. Everything is over, especially after March 27th.
Falls, injuries, operating room…
That day, at Across Flanders, Wout van Aert suffered a spectacular fall in the Belgian Classic. Broken collarbone, ribs, sternum problems… That is, the Classic season is over, Paris-Roubaix was just around the corner, and the Giro d’Italia, a great objective in terms of getting stages in, was close on the calendar as well. Although it had to wait a few days, Visma could not avoid the inevitable: no Giro d’Italia. It was time to change plans, And almost before there was time for this, the big shock of the season arrived. On the afternoon of April 4th, on the way to Legutiothe fourth stage of Itzulia was held. A downward curve and decline that marked the season before and after. There were many injuries involved, many of them of varying severity, and Jonas Vingegaard was one of the biggest victims.
The Tour de France champion spent twelve days hospitalized in Vitoria, He went to the ICU to monitor pneumothorax and for surgery for a clavicle fracture. Change of plans and the Tour de France in the air. What is clear is that, if it arrives, the preparation will not be ideal, much less according to plan, Not being able to participate in races like the Dauphiné. Then came the Giro, and halfway through the race the team was exhausted, already having only four riders from the eight that started. Laporte, Gesink, Kooij and Uijtdebroekx, the trump cards for the general classification, could do nothing (Kooij at least took a Volata) In the Italian period, the days of agony grew longer, which began indirectly, and without brightness, on a September night. The Dauphiné arrived, a race that was scheduled on Vingegaard’s calendar but that he couldn’t attend because of his accident. There was a pile-up at the French round that affected almost thirty riders… and two Vismas were the most affected: Van Baarle and Kruijswijk. Both, due to various fractures, missed the Tour they were supposed to attend. Almost everything comes to a tailspin. Fortunately, there is still a lot of time, years and race left to reverse the situation.
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