"Gossiping, sabotage, leaking to the media, not refueling team cars": Zeeman on the tough early years of current Visma | LaB

IDLProCycling.com already spoke in depth with Merijn Zeeman during the Vuelta a España, as he reflected on his upcoming departure from the team. Starting on December 1st, the Dutch team director will take on the role of general director at football club AZ Alkmaar in his home town, marking the end of his tenure as cycling manager. In an interview with De Volkskrant, he shared more about this transition.

“The Tour de France felt like the perfect closure for me. These are really my last weeks, and I’m beginning to realize that it’s all coming to an end. It’s bittersweet. On one hand, I’m looking forward to something new, but on the other, it’s a farewell to a sport I love. Even more so, it’s a farewell to the people I’ve shared so many ups and downs with,” confided Zeeman, the older brother of Thijs Zeeman, at the start of the Vuelta.

In his conversation with the Dutch newspaper, Zeeman also touched on some team history, particularly the early years of what is now known as Visma | Lease a Bike, back when it was still called Team LottoNL-Jumbo. “Those early years were the hardest,” said the jack-of-all-trades. “It was right after Rabobank stopped sponsoring us. The culture and atmosphere within the team were the exact opposite of what you’d want.”

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"Success is definitely something you can cultivate", says Zeeman

“There was sabotage, gossiping, everyone for themselves, and leaks to the media. It showed in the simplest things—passing on dirty team cars or not refueling them. If you’re talking about an unsafe working environment, that was it. It was really unpleasant,” Zeeman continued. “Turning that around is what I consider our greatest achievement. No more sitting back, no more holding others down, and no more shooting down every idea.”

And so, that yellow-black team eventually evolved into what is perhaps the best cycling team in the world. Their success is well-known. However, 2024 was another challenging year for the "killer bees." “Look at the results. We’re second in the world rankings. We were the first team to win both Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. The Flemish opening weekend belonged to us. Wout van Aert crashed in Dwars door Vlaanderen, but we still won. Jonas Vingegaard finished second in the Tour de France. That proves success can be managed: if a rider who spent two weeks in intensive care in April can finish directly behind a phenomenon like Tadej Pogacar in the toughest race in the world just three months later, that’s the equivalent of winning a gold medal.”