Full story: this is why Merijn Zeeman is leaving Visma | Lease a Bike after 'intense period'

Merijn Zeeman will definitively leave his position as sports director at Visma | Lease a Bike at the end of this year, as the Dutch team confirmed this week through its official channels, on the day rumors were already circulating. Time for an official and comprehensive explanation. Why? And, more importantly: now what?

In the team's press release, Visma | Lease a Bike confirmed the departure of Zeeman, who was part of the team for thirteen years and has served as sports director since 2017. Zeeman, seen as the architect behind the team's rebuild, is opting for a new step in his career by joining soccer team AZ, from "his" beloved town of Alkmaar. The team already announced that Zeeman will start on December 1.

"This is a difficult decision, which I also take with pain in my heart. Precisely because I hold this great organization so close to my heart. We have come a long way and together we have become one of the most successful teams in recent years. I am incredibly proud of that. Our culture with our people and our innovative approach has created an amazing development in which we were able to write history together, with the success in 2023 as the absolute highlight," Zeeman says, referring to the team's grand victories in the Giro, Tour and Vuelta during the previous season.

Zeeman seeks new challenge after Visma | Lease a Bike

Yet, Zeeman started to feel the itch. "I also believe it is good for everyone's development to look for new challenges and stimuli after a while. Continuing my career in soccer with club AZ is my next step, and I dare to take this step because I leave our strong professional organization, under the leadership of my good friend Richard Plugge, in the capable hands of my colleagues. But first, we want to make history together, also in 2024. We're going to work on that with a very nice start to the year, and we want to follow up on that powerfully in the coming months," said the native of Alkmaar, who is sure to see a dream come true now that he will hold a core position at the club from his home town.

Or as he says in a video the team released: "I have been doing this for twelve years now, and it has been an intensive period, during which I have worked day and night for the team, so to speak. It is very rewarding, but it also costs a lot. This winter, for the first time, I began to wonder if I could and wanted to keep doing this for years. My energy was lower at times, and I became curious if I could do this somewhere else too. Building something together with talented people, in a sport and organization I do not know. That made me decide to leave this wonderful team."

Zeeman is proud, of his role at Visma | Lease a Bike, "and the involvement of everyone". However, he also emphasizes that "he is going to enjoy things even more" in his last months in cycling. "Soccer players do not do altitude training camps, and I will soon be in the Sierra Nevada, and I still enjoy that very much. I will give it my all until the very last moment. I am now a sports director, but from December 1st onwards, mostly a fan. This team holds a special place, deep in my heart, and that will always remain."

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Plugge continues without friend Zeeman: "Built this team together"

Companion Plugge appeared melancholic in the earlier press release after the announced departure of Zeeman. "First of all, I am extremely sorry that Merijn, my friend and dear colleague, is leaving our organization. I understand his rationale and respect his difficult decision. We have built this team together, supported by a strong and loyal group of people, and Merijn has been of inestimable value with his vision and leadership qualities."

At the same time, Plugge is also realistic: "On the one hand, Merijn's departure hurts, but at the same time we have great confidence in our organization, which is solid as a rock. In the coming months we will clarify how our organization will be structured in the future and, as always, we will start internally. Of course we will also do everything we can together to make 2024 a successful year. We are now looking forward to that even more."