Steven Kruijswijk: What Jumbo-Visma are doing now is beyond expectations

Steven Kruijswijk leads Jonas Vingegaard at Itzulia Basque Country
Steven Kruijswijk leads Jonas Vingegaard at Itzulia Basque Country (Image credit: Getty Images)

A little over eleven years ago, in a half-empty ballroom of the Playitas hotel in Fuerteventura, Jumbo-Visma’s current era of plenty would have been hard to imagine. That evening, Steven Kruijswijk was among the riders introduced by newly installed manager Richard Plugge at a decidedly low-key team presentation. Then again, the muted atmosphere was understandable.

Following Rabobank’s withdrawal at the end of the 2012 season in response to years of doping transgressions, the team had rebranded as Blanco while they sought a replacement backer. Just as T-Mobile had done when they left the sport five years earlier, Rabobank provided parachute payments that would allow Blanco to compete in 2013, but in that gloomy winter, bookended by the USADA Reasoned Decision and Lance Armstrong’s belated doping confession, their long-term prospects looked bleak. 

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.