Jonas Vingegaard’s coach leaves Visma | Lease a Bike with immediate effect

“Over the past period, I have noticed that I was struggling to continue applying my creativity and passion, which are important to me in my work as a coach,” Heemskerk explained. Heemskerk spent eight years with Visma | Lease a Bike and played a key role in the years that saw Vingegaard develop into a multiple Tour de France winner. “That was the moment for me to be honest with myself and with the team.”

“I look back with pride on the growth of the team, myself and the riders — including, of course, Jonas. In the coming period I’m going to take some time for myself and think about my future,” he added.

For Mathieu Heijboer, the team’s Head of Performance, the departure is obviously a blow. “We are extremely grateful to Tim for the contribution he has made within the team in recent years. He played a major role in developing the training philosophy we use in our organisation and in achieving our sporting results.”

“Over the last period I’ve had many conversations with Tim, and I think this is the best outcome. I wish him all the best in his further career,” Heijboer said. The riders who worked directly with Heemskerk will now be assigned a different performance coach within the team. Matteo Jorgenson was among that group, alongside Vingegaard.

For the two-time Tour winner, losing his coach and trusted confidant is another setback. At the end of last week, Visma | Lease a Bike announced that the Dane must delay his season debut — which had been planned for the UAE Tour — due to a training crash and illness.