Former Jumbo-Visma rider Grøndahl Jansen on the supremacy of killer bees: "It will be forgotten in two years' time"

For unlucky Amund Grøndahl Jansen, 2023 was another year to quickly forget. However, the friendly Norwegian from Team Jayco AlUla is known to always find a silver lining. This image was confirmed once again when IDLProCycling.com managed to have a word with him!

Shortly before the start of the Super 8 Classic, the Belgian 1.Pro race formerly known as the Primus Classic, we caught up with Jansen in the mixed zone, which was set up on the market square in Brakel. There, the 29-year-old rider took ample time to tell us all sorts of things, starting with his personal evaluation of the year.

On August 17, 2023, Jansen made his comeback after exactly one year of injury woes. The Scandinavian has had several serious injuries before, but this time it was a problem with the femoral artery — a well-known issue for cyclists — that got him. "After a sabbatical year, it feels good to be back at work," he already mentioned in mid-August. "Of course, it has been a difficult period for me," he begins to explain in Brakel.

Jansen never expected he could continue his career

"Throughout my career, I've had several tough periods," he immediately adds some nuance to his previous statement. Jansen had previously struggled with persistent COVID-19 related issues. "Maybe this time it was even less severe than during other difficult times, because now I knew what the problem was. And that hasn't always been the case with my injuries. After surgeries on my narrowed femoral artery, I faced some complications. That was certainly difficult, but at least I know it's not my fault. That's nice to know and truly a relief."

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Jansen still has a contract until the end of next year with the team, which includes riders like Michael Matthews and Simon Yates. "That luckily gives me peace of mind. Otherwise, it would have probably been a difficult situation," says the tall man from Nes. For him, participating is much more important than winning, he implies. The affable North European makes it clear that he wouldn't have been devastated if his career had ended after this season. "If I had to stop, I would have been satisfied with what I've done throughout my career. At the beginning of this year, I was even mentally prepared to quit. I didn't expect my problems to be resolved. So this spring, I was already contemplating what I would do after my cycling career. Anything that happens now in the racing world is a bonus for me," he reveals candidly.

If it were up to Jansen, he would like to work as a domestique for Dylan Groenewegen a few more times. Jansen joined Team LottoNL-Jumbo, now known as Jumbo-Visma, in 2017. Groenewegen was already part of the yellow-black brigade then. The two became very good friends. When Jansen switched to his current employer in 2021, the Amsterdam native followed a year later. "It's my dream to race a few more times like in my best years," says the winner of the 2016 ZLM Tour honestly. "I had a very good year in 2019, so I'd like to relive that. Racing in good health and with lots of joy, that's what it's all about for me. And if I could contend for victories in races that suit me, that would be absolutely fantastic."

According to Jansen, it would make sense for Primoz Roglic to move to Lidl-Trek or INEOS Grenadiers

The Norwegian champion of 2019 rode a total of four years for Richard Plugge's team (2017-2020). The so-called killer bees currently dominate the peloton, so IDLProCycling.com was curious about Jansen's view on the supremacy of his former team. "I think things are going well for them now. When I turned pro at Jumbo, Quick-Step was dominant in the classics. Everything was going against us back then. Once you're in a winning flow, everything else falls into place. But I think we'll all forget how well Jumbo-Visma did in two years, because then another team will win everything. A bit like what happened with Sky during the times of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. That dominance shifts every two to three years."

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"I really do think that's how it will be," he continues assertively. "You can't keep so many good riders together for long. They all have their own ambitions. At some point, some guys will opt for another team. That's why I see Roglic potentially moving to INEOS Grenadiers or Lidl-Trek. That would be quite a logical choice. And that would then prevent Jumbo-Visma from pulling off a 1-2-3 in a Grand Tour," he refers to the Vuelta a España, where Roglic (third), Sepp Kuss (winner) and Jonas Vingegaard (second) stood on the final podium.

"It's not that other teams aren't good or are less focused: things are also going really well for Jumbo-Visma. Maybe it was a bit disappointing for some opponents, especially since the margins are small. If the opponents improve by one to three percent and Jumbo-Visma declines by one to three percent, you immediately have different results."