Oomen was an 'average player' at Jumbo-Visma, but thanks to look-a-like and buddy Tao, hope now looms at Lidl-Trek.

Sam Oomen is spreading his wings, and how! After his breakthrough at the Dutch Team Sunweb and several disappointing years of bad luck at Dutch Jumbo-Visma, he now embarks on an adventure with the American cycling team Lidl-Trek. A notable transfer? Maybe, but maybe not. In the team of inspirer Bauke Mollema and good friend Tao Geoghegan Hart, Oomen might be able to find his way better.

Oomen is the man who, in 2018 as a domestique for Tom Dumoulin, finished ninth in the Giro d'Italia. He is the man who raced finals in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy and finished top ten in major races like the Tirreno, Catalonia, Switzerland, and Poland. However, we haven't seen that Oomen much in recent years. After a broken hip, an operation on his groin artery, and a broken shoulder blade in 2023, it's time for the best Sam to resurface again.

At Lidl-Trek, Oomen came onto the radar thanks to Geoghegan Hart, who was brought in this winter as the leader from INEOS Grenadiers. Geoghegan Hart and Oomen: put two photos side by side, and from ten meters away, you can't tell who is who. Reddish hair, a mischievous face, sparkling eyes, and a narrow mouth. Both also born in 1995, and now teammates for the first time. "Sam's name did come up from Tao's side when we were talking to him. Sam's contract was expiring, and we were looking for such a type of rider, so it came together well," Steven de Jongh, team leader at Lidl-Trek, told IDLProCycling.com.

Friends or not, at Lidl-Trek, they brought Oomen in mainly because of his qualities. With only 28 years of life under his belt, De Jongh still sees a lot of potential. "Sam has had some problems and lacks some confidence. Hopefully, he will find that here again, along with a bit of fun." At Lidl-Trek, he is given full trust. What's more: De Jongh confesses that Oomen is on the shortlist of thirteen for the Tour de France. The leader there? Exactly: Geoghegan Hart. With this in mind, we start an intriguing interview with Sam himself...

The interview with Oomen starts below the photo!

Sam Oomen on Jumbo-Visma, his transfer and a misinterpreted interview

A new team, Sam... You already have a bit of experience with that, but how have the first weeks been?

'Well, the first weeks... Actually, this training camp is kind of a second week, because we had our first week in October in America. That was a team meeting. This is the first real week with the bike. It's hard to compare, but with all these new people, it is definitely out of the comfort zone."

Do you like that?

"I don't know if you can say it's fun to step out of your comfort zone, but afterwards, you are often glad that you did."

Was your departure from Jumbo-Visma a personal choice or were you forced to leave?

"I think it was a bit of both. We both had the feeling that it was good to go to another team. That felt somewhat contradictory to me because Jumbo-Visma is a very family-like team, with many familiar faces from the Rabobank era. The service course is just around the corner, so in that sense, it's hard to leave. But the team is changing, and my career is too short to miss out on something. I would have regretted it. I was just a very average player in the Jumbo-Visma team, I think. It's such a team of champions... I could keep up there and it's nice to belong somewhere, but you also want to be a bit special. I couldn't distinguish myself enough, and that's what I strive for."

What have you been promised at Lidl-Trek in that respect, that it will be so different from Jumbo-Visma?

"Promised is a big word, you just have to look at the teams. With all due respect, because Lidl-Trek is now a super strong and balanced team, but even then, there is a difference with Jumbo-Visma. There you have Jonas Vingegaard, a Tour de France winner, and the results in the grand tours speak for themselves. Those are such champions, they ride to win, and in my case, you quickly fall down the pecking order when it comes to personal chances or racing in finals."

Have you enjoyed the past year of Jumbo-Visma at all?

"Uh, well, cycling is of course a team sport, but there is a very large individual component to it. Then I think the enjoyment is greatest when you win as a team, and you're part of it. That was exceptional in the Giro d'Italia, so I really enjoyed that. That was very special, but it does have to do with the fact that I was there, to be honest."

In an interview on the Lidl-Trek website, when your transfer was announced, you said that the best years are still ahead of you...

"Yes, it's funny how that goes, quite typical. That's why I'm always a bit wary of interviews. That wasn't the gist of the story at all, but by moving a few words around, the whole tone of the thing changes. I said that - if mother nature does her job and you've seen the course of my career - there should be a few very strong years ahead of me. In that sense, I find it too early to throw away my own chances or the racing of finals for big leaders, because normally there should still be a few strong years coming up, in which I should be able to improve. Not to say that the strongest years are still ahead of me, because I am aware that my first year as a pro could have been my strongest year. I think that's an important detail because it was described differently in the interview. I'm glad you asked about it."

Sam Oomen on his "crooked head", Geoghegan Hart, and "inspiration" Mollema

Do you already know what you are going to do in terms of the program?

"No, no, not exactly. So I can't say much sensible about that yet.

Tao Geoghegan Hart and you are good friends, from the same generation and will ride in the same team. That's going to be difficult for us, when soon you guys are riding around in the peloton with helmets on...

"No, you're going to see the difference very clearly! I sit very differently and more crookedly on my bike and also have a crooked head. You're going to recognize that very easily, haha!"

I do have the title of my article now, though!

"Haha, yes, please be careful with it."

How fun is it to ride in the same team with him now?

"It's really great. It's hard to explain, but I've known him since our junior days, when you're 17 or 18 years old. We always raced against each other, but also chatted now and then. Sometimes those chats turned into really good conversations, even off the bike. Then you know: we really understand each other. That's really fun, but it's different when you're teammates. We were at this training camp in Spain, and then you quickly go out together. Suddenly you share everything and I find it very interesting that you share the same grief, being from the same year (1995, ed.)."

Did his move to Lidl-Trek play any part in your transfer here?

"That might very well be, although I don't know exactly. It's possible that he pushed hard for me, but you really shouldn't ask me. I do think it played a role."

You called Bauke Mollema an inspiration in the interview mentioned earlier. Can you explain why?

"Well, you just have to take a look at his track record... We just talked about the strong years that should still lie ahead for me, and I see him as the epitome of someone who, like a fine wine, gets better with the years. In 2023 he might have had a bit of a harder time, but I find it incredibly impressive that in the current cycling world full of youth and rejuvenation, he stays true to the old school romance. Bauke is super professional, but races with his heart, keeps his bike computer in his pocket, and keeps the bigger picture in mind. He doesn't lose himself in the details. That's becoming increasingly rare in cycling, even with nutrition and such. He's still one of the best cyclists in the world with that approach, and in 2019 he even won Lombardy. In Bauke's style, not with the highest power outputs. And I don't count myself among that category either. But I am someone who also loves the romance of cycling, of racing, and of hard work. Then you feel attracted to that."

Is that also the reason why you and Tao get along so well? I had an interview with him, and he talked a lot about social issues and those kind of things.

"Yes, last week we trained together for five hours, and we did talk about those kinds of things, yes. We share that sentiment."

Do you think that's lacking in cycling, or is it particularly nice that you find it so much in Tao and Bauke? At Jumbo-Visma, maybe it's a bit more about the numbers and nutrition...

"Yes, although it's not that there aren't guys there who also feel that way. I prefer to consider myself fortunate to be with men who have the same way of thinking, rather than becoming bitter about men who don't."

Hearing you talk, it sounds like you would really enjoy going to the Tour with Geoghegan Hart.

"Yes, that would be really frikking great!"

Have you already talked about it together while cycling?

"Yes, it does come up, although not a lot. That might sound a bit unbelievable, but we don't spend all our time talking about the Tour."

Is five hours of cycling with Tao Geoghegan Hart and Sam Oomen over in no time?

"In my opinion, yes it is."

Sam Oomen on racing in finals and the difference between Jumbo-Visma and Lidl-Trek

Have you noticed any differences between Jumbo-Visma and Lidl-Trek? I hear here from your teammates that you do want to close the gap with them...

"Perhaps later I will indeed come to the conclusion that the differences are not that big. Yet, there is a different culture here, although I was aware that this question would be asked. So far, it's more of a feeling that I can't quite explain, but it is different here."

Maybe also more international, since Jumbo-Visma is still Dutch-run after all?

"That's definitely a difference, yes, yes. During the races, I just don't know what it's going to be like yet."

Mollema and many others have been riding here for years, that says something, doesn't it?

"I think that's a fair comment. Bauke is known as someone who likes to deviate a bit from the norm, to whatever extent it exists. He is a personality, and it's no coincidence that he wants to ride here until he's forty."

Would you like that too, to be a pro until age 40?

"As long as you keep growing, can pursue ambitions, and are satisfied with yourself and the world around you... And you still see a lot of growth when you're 33 or 34, then I understand why you would continue. The chance is just not that big, so Bauke is an exceptional case for me."

Final question: when would your 2024 have been successful?

"It would be really great to participate in the finals of the biggest races and play a significant role. For myself, but especially for guys like Tao, or Skjelmose, Ciccone, or Pedersen. If you can play a distinctive role in such races, that's what really gets my blood pumping. That would be very cool."