Back in 2016, the team was still called Team LottoNL-Jumbo. The prologue of the Tour de l'Ain, a fortunate stage win in the Vuelta a España and the national time trial title highlighted a rather shabby 2015. "We decided to go back to the drawing board and draw up a new vision with several people", Zeeman says. "We put our heads together and on several flipcharts, we drew out what we had in mind."

The road to Tour success was not without obstacles. "We decided to draw up a long-term vision. We were sometimes laughed at, especially in the beginning. We chose to invest in talent development, equipment, workforce, knowledge, skills and nutrition, among other things. We considered winning the Tour de France the holy grail. The fact that we have achieved this now is wonderful. For us, it was the symbol of the highest attainable goal. Of course that whole process did not happen overnight", says Zeeman.

"It starts with the riders. They have to make certain sacrifices", the sporting director continues. "These sacrifices are inextricably linked to top sport. The riders are away from home for weeks at a time every year. Very focused, we work on the details to improve each individual every day. In the meantime, you forge a team. We do a lot of training camps and altitude training—more than any other team. For example, another group of riders was at altitude in Tignes during the Tour. Team Jumbo-Visma's programme is intensive. We select our riders for that. Athletes on our team have to be willing to make sacrifices.

Zeeman says he is anything but afraid of quickly becoming saturated. "We regularly review our approach. We are always critical. We strive for the highest achievable. We have to continue what we are doing and always try to go the extra mile. We keep looking for improvement. That is the core of this team. Many people are working behind the scenes day in and day out to bring Team Jumbo-Visma to a higher level. I am incredibly proud of the commitment that all participants show and feel. Sport is about getting ahead of the competition. This is how we do that, every year.

According to Zeeman, the arrival of sports director Grischa Niermann in 2017 indicates the team's progression in terms of coaching. "Grischa keeps the riders on their toes every second of the year. Defeat is not an option. When we set out our vision, winning the Tour de France was the dot on the horizon for us. Tactically, we have also been innovative in recent years. We have crossed over to other sports and gained a lot of knowledge in tactics. Not a day goes by when we are not busy bringing out the best in ourselves. That is also the case in coaching."

"The outside world now looks at our way of working with great admiration", the 43-year-old sporting director knows. "I do not fear that other teams will copy us. Our dedication makes a difference. That formula cannot be copied one-on-one, simply because it is so detailed and challenging. Team Jumbo-Visma is much more than a team where we practice top sport. In all layers, it is a super-driven organisation in which commitment and the will to strive for ever better are fundamental. Many people feel that they have contributed to this success."

"The performances in the past Tour are historic. We have focused on yellow and green from the beginning and made it happen. That's why we can't speak of exceeding expectations. We feel the support from outside the team. People speak of the most beautiful Tour in years, partly due to Team Jumbo-Visma's attractive riding. That is one of the nicest compliments we can get. Millions of people watched the stage towards Hautacam. They saw a cycling team controlling the race after years of detailed preparation. I feel the employees' pride in working on this unique project from day one. It is a dream come true.
The realisation of that dream did not fall into our lap. We have all worked very hard for it", Zeeman concludes.