Valter lives is on cloud nine at Jumbo-Visma: "Roglic a Vuelta-style leader, Vingegaard more focused on watts"

Last winter, the Vuelta a España wasn't even on his schedule, but after an excellent debut season for Jumbo-Visma, Attila Valter is participating in the Spanish stage race. The 25-year-old Hungarian has been racing—except for the team time trial—with a big smile on his face. You could say he's been on cloud number nine all year long. IDLProCycling.com spoke with Valter about Jumbo-Visma, racing with Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard and his own ambitions for the future.

Valter is sometimes confused with Dylan van Baarle in passing. One wears a red-white-green jersey as the Hungarian champion, the other a red-white-blue one from the Netherlands. Fortunately, we managed to flag down the right cyclist. Valter graciously dismounted from his bike and took a moment to answer our questions, all with a smile on his face. "I'm excited to embark on this new journey with Jumbo-Visma and be part of a team aiming for grand tour victories," he starts off.

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Attila Valter earned spot in the Vuelta with outstanding performance

The young Valter, who switched from Groupama-FDJ to Jumbo-Visma after 2022, is wide-eyed in awe at the Vuelta. Riding alongside Roglic and Vingegaard, and then also having Sepp Kuss, Van Baarle, Wilco Kelderman, Robert Gesink, and Jan Tratnik in the mix... it's a line-up worthy of the Tour de France, agrees the Hungarian. "I was talking to Jonas about how this Vuelta team might even be better for the climbs than the Tour team. I'm honored to be a part of it."

Valter's inclusion wasn't the plan last winter. The Vuelta selection was left open, and those riders who proved themselves made the cut. Valter thus earned his spot with excellent performances throughout the year. He helped Vingegaard secure a dominant overall win in O Gran Camiño, finished fifth himself in Strade Bianche, rode the Tirreno and Tour of the Basque Country in service of Roglic and Vingegaard, respectively, and claimed the eleventh place in La Flèche Wallonne on his own. After winning the Hungarian road and time trial championships, he showed great form in the Tour of Burgos, once again supporting Roglic.

Jumbo-Visma couldn't overlook him any longer. Valter, who already participated in the Giro d'Italia in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with Groupama-FDJ, had secretly hoped for this. "Though it wasn't on my winter program, I had the Vuelta in my mind. But the team hadn't confirmed it yet. I had to prove myself this season, and I probably did. I also have a good connection with Jonas," he tells this website. It's a lovely reward, and it adds to his portfolio for the years to come. "We have great collective goals for the future, so I'm eager to see how it turns out."

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Valter and Jumbo-Visma have yet to outline future plans

With this, Valter is alluding to the ambitious plans of Jumbo-Visma for the team, but certainly also his own. The climber was recruited with the core climbing team in mind, but naturally, he also has his own ambitions. "This year, I've made bigger strides than I expected. I hope to continue that growth and we'll see where it takes me. I don't believe in fairy tales, but I do think I can win races and stages. Additionally, I want to support the team in the biggest races on the calendar, like the Tour. That's my goal and I believe I have that potential, but we'll have to look at it step by step because it's hard to predict what a rider can achieve."

Patience is the magic word, although there won't be too long of a wait to indicate the direction of his career. "I'll have to make a decision when it comes to general classifications in grand tours. On one hand, I think it's possible to finish in the top ten, but on the other hand, I could also ride for a leader who can win a grand tour. I want to experience this in the Vuelta and then it's up to all of us to see where it goes and what we decide for me as a rider. When you're part of a team with Jonas as the leader, you really feel like you share the victories. Then it's better to win with him than to finish eleventh yourself."

For Valter, it's also nice to have both Roglic and Vingegaard by his side in Spain. He can ride for them but also learn a lot from them. "They are both great leaders and they get along very well. Primoz is more of a Vuelta-style leader; he has no stress. Jonas is similar, but he is more in control and more focused on watts and numbers. Those are their personalities, but it's nice to work for both of them. They are always grateful, without egos."