Jumbo-Visma have made their sixth and perhaps least expected signing for the 2024 season, bringing Dutch neo-pro and former Air Force officer Bart Lemmen on board from Human Powered Health.
The 28-year-old signs up on a two-year deal from the US squad, joining Matteo Jorgenson and Ben Tulett on the incoming list for Jumbo-Visma along with development team graduates Johannes Staune-Mittet, Loe van Belle, and Per Strand Hagenes.
With 27 riders confirmed for the 2024 season, including three neo-pros, Jumbo-Visma have three roster spots left to potentially fill over the winter. The team have extended with a number of riders, including two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard (2027), Classics star Christophe Laporte (2026), and sprinter Olav Kooij (2025).
GC leader Primož Roglič heads up the team's outgoing list as the Slovenian switches to Bora-Hansgrohe, while Nathan Van Hooydonck, Rohan Dennis and Jos Van Emden head for retirement. Sam Oomen (Lidl-Trek), and the DSM-Firmenich-bound pair Gijs Leemreize and Timo Roosen are also leaving the Dutch squad.
Lemmen is fairly new to top-level cycling, having worked as an officer in the Dutch Air Force before turning pro with Human Powered Health this season. Previously he had raced for Continental squad VolkerWessels. However Jumbo-Visma were impressed with what they saw in racing and lab tests.
"I am really looking forward to this new chapter in my atypical cycling career," Lemmen said.
"At the beginning of the year, going from being an Air Force officer to a full-time professional cyclist was quite a change.
"Over the past few months, I've made great strides physically and in adjusting to life as a professional athlete. It's great that it's paying off and that team Jumbo-Visma sees my potential.
A win on the final stage of the 2022 Kreiz Breizh Elites is Lemmen's solo pro victory to date, while standout results this season have included fourth places in the Dutch National Championships road race and the time trial finale at O Gran Camiño as well as eighth place at the Circuito de Getxo.
Recently, Lemmen finished fifth overall at the Tour of Slovakia before rounding out his seasons at a series of one-day races in Belgium. He may not have much experience at the professional level but Jumbo-Visma have said that testing and interviews have assured them that Lemmen belongs in the WorldTour peloton.
"We are very excited to see how he will develop as he gets to know our training programme", team directeur sportif Merijn Zeeman said.
"Bart has only recently started cycling as an elite sport. Before that, he did intensive military training and combined cycling with a demanding job in defence. That was the trigger for us. Despite little training and coaching, he has shown interesting things in races, and his physical values show tremendous potential."
Jumbo-Visma noted that Lemmen shows promise in time trials and on hilly courses. The rider himself said that he's looking forward to "an excellent voyage of discovery" with his new team.
"The development process with the team will show where I can be of most value," he said. "I expect it to be an excellent voyage of discovery. I am looking forward to working with the team in preparation and the races."
