No Tour and Van Poppel, but lots of classics for Jordi Meeus: "Roglic didn't join the team for the Giro"

Meeus was originally set to start his season in the AlUla Tour, but illness thwarted those plans for the man from Belgian Limburg. For this reason, his schedule was slightly altered, and the Clasica Almeria - where Wout van Aert will also begin his season - will be Meeus's first race of 2024. After that, the focus will mainly be on the spring races, where Meeus has not yet been able to perform at the top of his abilities throughout his career, for various reasons.

"I have never really been at my best in the classics because I got sick twice after Tirreno-Adriatico. That's why I'm skipping those races now, so hopefully I'll be at my best for the classics," said the Belgian, who will also have opportunities to chase his own victories. "I think I have a good engine. The tough races I have ridden, I have always been able to finish those well. And the classics are also very close to my heart. Now, I've really made them a goal again. Within the team we also have Bob Jungels and Danny van Poppel for those races, but winning will obviously be difficult. We are aware of that."

Leader Meeus it is then, although he himself has some reservations in that regard. "That's not going to be the case in the E3 Saxo Classic or Tour of Flanders. I will participate in those races to keep the tension on my legs, but when it comes to big results, I'm aiming more at races like Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, Brugge-De Panne, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Gent-Wevelgem, Scheldeprijs and Roubaix. I have ambitions for those races, but it's difficult to tell how far I can actually take those when the time comes."

"There are few other sprint races, so I think I can also handle that combination of classics/sprinting well," Meeus continues. "Roubaix, for example, should also suit me well. I've been fourteenth there once in a bad spring. Against Wout and Mathieu, it will obviously be difficult, but if I'm in good shape and the race goes my way, anything is possible," he says, looking ahead to the Hell of the North.

In addition to Roglic, sprinter Sam Welsford also joined the German team. He immediately drew attention in the Tour Down Under with three stage wins and also been allocated luxury lead-out Van Poppel. How does Meeus look at that? Calmly, it seems. "Sam is a bit more of a pure sprinter than I am; I'm more a man for the classics. He relies more on a fully prepared sprint, while I can do a bit more on my own. I've indicated to the team that I would like to have Danny with me, but I'm not the type to need to be perfectly led out every time."

"Sometimes it's nice to find my own way, especially since I know I'm not the fastest. If you feel you're the fastest and you always win if you can launch properly, then it's different. I'm realistic enough to know it wouldn't always be a hit, so then the team benefits more from having Danny with Sam," Meeus explains.

For those reasons, the friendly rider also did some things differently in preparation. "I'm now training more specifically towards those efforts of one to three minutes, also because I felt after last year's Tour that the volume and the engine are really there. I already naturally lean towards the heavier sprints, as you can see from my victory in Paris."

Paris, let's address that. On day 21 of last year's Tour, Meeus suddenly found himself in the spotlight, but this year he will almost certainly not be racing the Tour de France. "I don't think it's the easiest Tour for sprinters. The opportunities are mainly in the first one and a half weeks, from then on, there's little to gain. I'm at peace with it, especially since the team's goal is clear: winning the Tour with Roglic. Maybe I would have thought differently about that, had it been a good Tour for sprinters," he says, remaining level-headed.

No Giro and no Tour either, it seems, so what is on the schedule then? "Probably the Vuelta. We start with the classics, followed by a relatively quiet summer with a high-altitude training camp. And then the Vuelta. I'm happy about that because I wanted to focus on the classics anyway. And I'm allowed to do that. Last year I did the Tour and it would be nice to return, but I'm not very upset about it. It wasn't a must, as I also know that Roglic didn't come to our team for the Giro."

So, Meeus has other goals. "I have a lot of ambition and want to win as often as possible, but I'm not going to demand domestiques. I do expect a few victories a year from myself. I would have liked to win more, but there was certainly a beautiful one. Next year, I want to win about five, and let's not forget, I do have a lead-out. Marco Haller will be my man, but Nico Denz and Jonas Koch will also be there in the spring."

With the arrival of Roglic and also RedBull, BORA-hansgrohe suddenly finds itself in the spotlight. "That's something the riders talk about," Meeus admits. "It's a big step forward for the team. For me personally, it may seem negative because I'm not in the Tour team, but ultimately it seems mostly advantageous for the team. Also given the arrival of Marc Lamberts, who brings a lot of know-how from Visma | Lease a Bike. I also notice that my schedules are a bit different, although Henrik Werner remained my coach. I also spoke with Wilco Kelderman about it, among others. He said the technique is the same, but the intensity is slightly different. The hours and training blocks are the same, but the training is harder. For now, I am digesting that well and I feel I can handle a higher pace," Meeus looks for the positives.

In the Roglic/RedBull euphoria, Meeus's contract is coming to an end. What does he find important in his choice for the coming years? "I would like to stay. I'm happy here and see no reason to leave. The Tour is the biggest race in the world, but the connoisseurs also know what the Vuelta is. The confidence from my Tour victory was very good and now the team listens to me a bit more, including having a fixed lead-out," he expresses his faith in his team.