Top US rider Matteo Jorgenson has made major changes to his calendar and won't race the cobbled Classics or his beloved Paris-Nice in 2026, instead opting to focus on the hilly Classics, with a Monument, and more specifically Liège-Bastogne-Liège, circled as his key goal.
He will race the Tour de France again to help Jonas Vingegaard, but despite stating recently how he would like to be a leader at a Grand Tour, and reigning Giro winner Simon Yates' retirement leaving a gap for someone to step up, that will not be happening in 2026.
Jorgenson has played a key role supporting the likes of Wout van Aert in the Flemish Classics since joining Visma in 2024, even winning Dwars door Vlaanderen solo, but after being inspired as an Ardennes spectator, he thinks La Doyenne could be the perfect fit.
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"Last year, I watched the Ardennes and I really wanted to be there, and I just asked [the team] at that point if I could do the spring differently the next year," Jorgenson told reporters at Visma's camp earlier this week.
"Not going to the cobbled Classics is just because I really want to be good in the Ardennes, and to do that, I think I want to go to altitude before then, which forces me to skip those races."
Himself more of a climber, Jorgenson is eyeing up the longer ascents that feature at Amstel Gold Race and Liège as somewhere he can thrive, but he also has emotional connections to the race, from his first experiences racing in Europe and his time at Movistar.
"Liège is a race that I've done a few times, but I've also watched it the past couple years, and I've just always wanted to be there, because those longer climbs I feel are good for me, and might be a little bit better than the Flemish ones," he said.
"But also, I raced Liege with Alejandro Valverde, and I think it was his last time doing Liège, and he had won it, I don't know how many times, but I just remember his passion for the race.
"The night before that edition, we watched a bunch of Alejandro's victories at Liège, and I remember the fun and exciting emotions and looking forward to it. It's a special and historical race, and something that I just want to do again, because I think it suits me well."
Jorgenson spoke highly of how much Visma listened to their riders when it came to the calendar-building for 2026, with him being allowed to completely change things, and Vingegaard getting the race the Giro before the Tour de France as he wanted.
"The management sat down last fall, and they thought a little bit about what we can improve, and they definitely realised that they want to listen to our desires a little bit more this year," said Jorgenson.
"You can see in the calendars that as riders, we were given space to choose a little bit of our own calendar, and they really listened. I think, especially in Jonas' case, because it was difficult for them to let go of this formula that they had perfected for so long, and because they also know that it works – they won the Tour twice with it – so it was difficult for them to give that up.
"But Jonas asked many times if he could do something different and approach the Tour in a different way, and I honestly applaud them for it, because it's not an easy thing to do when you know you have something that works."
Though delighted with his new Monument-focused racing for the coming season, Jorgenson is still thinking about Grand Tour leadership in future; it's just something that's been put on hold for the moment. At 26 and having signed an extension this past off-season, however, he'll have plenty of opportunities to step up.
"I've already put it as like an objective, to go for [a Grand Tour] in my career at some point, and I think it remains to be seen whether it's possible or not," Jorgenson added.
"I mean, you only know if you try and show up, so I really can't answer the question if it's possible, but I definitely would love to have the opportunity sometime to do it. I'm sure in the next four years that we'll find a moment where I can put a lot of resources into going for one and really trying to do GC at a Grand Tour."
