Jumbo-Visma sports director Merijn Zeeman has said that the team continues to support Michel Hessman following his positive test for an unnamed diuretic in an out-of-competition control on June 14.
Hessman was provisionally suspended by Jumbo-Visma earlier this month, and the German faces a doping ban of up to four years if he cannot explain why he tested positive for the diuretic.
In an interview with Dutch newspaper Trouw, Zeeman confirmed that he had remained in contact with Hessman but that he could provide no update on the status of his case.
“I cannot make any further announcements about that,” said Zeeman. “We are working on it, that’s clear. In addition, Michel the person is just as important to us. As a human being, he deserves our support. Make no mistake, this is about a 22-year-old athlete whose whole world has completely collapsed. We’re also keeping an eye on that mental part.”
The 22-year-old Hessman turned professional with Jumbo-Visma last year and he was part of the that helped Primoz Roglic to overall victory at the Giro d’Italia in May. Zeeman described the news of his positive test as “painful,” adding: “It was a big shock when I heard about the positive test. A message that we as a team and I as a coach had hoped we would never get. We want to play an exemplary role when it comes to anti-doping policy.”
Hessman’s case comes in the middle of another season of striking dominance from Jumbo-Visma, who are now chasing a clean sweep of Grand Tours at the Vuelta a España. Jumbo-Visma faced questions about their credibility amid Jonas Vingegaard’s supremacy at the Tour de France, with manager Richard Plugge insisting the team was “as transparent as possible.” Zeeman acknowledged that the team’s reputation had taken a hit due to the Hessman case.
“This test hits us harder because we are so successful,” Zeeman said. “Will I have to be less proud when we may have won three Grand Tours? Because a young rider may have made a mistake? That is ultimately up to the outside world, not to me. Everything stands and falls with the results of the investigation, and we do not know them yet.”
