Former Visma rider Grøndahl Jansen: “I won’t lie, it hurts not to be able to stop on my own terms”

“Three guys doing the ‘Tour de France of skimo’ who have actually raced the Tour de France,” last year’s retiree Michael Woods wrote alongside a photo of himself, former Jumbo-Visma rider Amund Grøndahl Jansen and Joe Dombrowski, who retired in 2023. The trio took part in the Pierramenta, a brutally demanding ski mountaineering challenge in the Alps.

“I’m incredibly nervous and excited to take on the pinnacle of this sport. Four days, 10,000 metres of elevation gain, epic mountain passes, unpredictable terrain, a whole lot of gear and a whole lot of cardio,” Woods said last week.

Grøndahl Jansen has now added his own reflection. “It has helped me tremendously to get through the first months of my retirement. I won’t lie; it’s very painful not to be able to retire on my own terms after so many years in cycling,” said the Norwegian, who had been struggling with iliac artery problems.

“This race and the preparation for it were the best therapy I could have wished for. Climbing snowy mountain ridges and skiing down steep couloirs is just a fantastic way to take your mind off things. Problems that seemed important disappear instantly when one wrong move could send you off a rocky mountainside.”

“After switching from touring skis to skiing to climbing about 60 times, it’s now time to make the transition to a life after professional sport,” concluded Grøndahl Jansen, who did plenty of valuable work during his Visma years for riders such as Wout van Aert and Dylan Groenewegen.