'Wonderful milestone' as Jumbo-Visma finish top

LONDON • The takeover by Jumbo-Visma of the WorldTour peloton was confirmed on Tuesday as they became the first Dutch cycling outfit to finish the season top of the world governing body UCI's team rankings.

The yellow-and-black brigade have enjoyed a sensational season, culminating with Primoz Roglic retaining his Vuelta a Espana title on Sunday.

The Slovenian, who finished runner-up in the Tour de France after dramatically losing out on the penultimate-day time trial, also ended the year as best rider while teammate Wout van Aert topped the rankings for one-day riders.

The team's sole black mark for the year was the Union Cycliste Internationale's (UCI) suspension yesterday of Dutch cyclist Dylan Groenewegen for nine months, for causing a crash at the Tour of Poland that resulted in compatriot Fabio Jakobsen being placed in a medically induced coma in August.

Jumbo-Visma ended the season with 23 victories, including three stages of the Tour de France, four at the Vuelta and two monuments: Milan-San Remo and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

"This is a wonderful milestone," general manager Richard Plugge said. "Partners, sponsors, staff and of course the riders have all contributed to this ultimate reward."

Jumbo-Visma have replaced British team Ineos Grenadiers (formerly Team Sky) as the peloton's top dogs, although Plugge said there is no time to stand still especially with Ineos - for whom Tao Geoghegan Hart won the Giro d'Italia - looking to have strengthened ahead of next year.

"We set the bar high again for the new season, but of course, we continue to enjoy every victory," he said. "We have been pursuing this path since 2015 and we would very much like to continue on it."

There was more good news for Dutch cycling, with Anna van der Breggen finishing as best female rider after winning the world road title and Giro Rosa.

REUTERS