As if the surprise loss of his mountain super-domestique Simon Yates wasn't enough, Jonas Vingegaard and his Visma-Lease a Bike team are now facing the departure of his coach Tim Heemskerk, it was announced yesterday.
Just like Yates's retirement, the loss of Heemskerk – who has been at the team for eight years – has a very 'last-minute' air, coming as it does at the very outset of the new season.
Heemskerk, 50, had been in charge of Visma's GC riders under the leadership of head of performance Mathieu Heijboer, but said that he had found it hard to apply "creativity and passion" at the Dutch team in recent times.
"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," he said. "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 will take some time for myself and reflect on my future."
Beyond the loss of Yates, Vingegaard's season has already been compromised by illness and injury. He crashed in training two weeks ago, apparently trying to drop an amateur rider who had been tailing him on a downhill near Malaga in southern Spain.
Vingegaard was reported by the team as being "okay" and sustaining no serious injury, but he went on to fall ill and was ultimately ruled out of the UAE Tour, which starts next week.
That leaves only two races between now and the Tour de France for the Dane – the Volta a Catalunya at the end of March and his much-talked about Giro d'Italia participation.
That leaves an awful lot of time in which his training will have to do the heavy lifting, and it will have to happen under a new coach too. Visma-Lease a Bike says Vingegaard – along with Heemskerk's other riders – will be transferred to another team coach, although they have not confirmed who yet.
"We are extremely grateful to Tim for the contribution he has made to the team over the past years," Heijboer said in a team statement. "He has played a major role in the development of the training philosophy we apply within the team and in achieving our sporting results. Over the past period, I have had many conversations with Tim, and I believe this is the best outcome. I wish him all the best in the next stage of his career."
