Matteo Jorgenson returns to his second Tour de France stronger, more confident, and more ambitious.
Yet it’s unlikely there will be a repeat of his high-flying, attack-filled Tour debut.
Instead, the 6-foot-2 Idahoan is so fit that he’s being tapped to be one of the last men in the mountains for Movistar’s GC bet Enric Mas.
“The team management is clear that I am selected to help Enric,” Jorgenson told Velo. “The podium is the team’s No. 1 objective, and they’ve been pretty clear as long as Enric is there, I am going to be there to help him on the most selective days. They want me to be the last man for him when the group is small and gets tactical.”
Being Movistar’s “last man” in the Tour on a team renowned for its featherweight climbers reveals just how far and fast Jorgenson is elbowing his way up the hierarchy inside the WorldTour.
It’s the next step in his Tour de France evolution.
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Jorgenson, who turns 24 on July 1, returns to the Tour as part of Movistar’s eight starters. Others confirmed Monday include Nelson Oliveira, Antonio Pedrero, Ruben Guerreiro, Gregor Mühlberger, Gorka Izagirre, and Alex Aranburu, the last two whom are Basque riders racing on home roads for the Tour’s “grand départ.”
Jorgenson feels he’s up for the job and ready to show that he’s earned his place.
“I am not trying to be unrealistic,” he said. “I’ve shown a high level this spring, and it’s corresponded with the amount of work and how seriously I’ve taken things. My head is not in the clouds. These are reasonable objectives, and I slowly keep chipping away. I’ve been consistently getting better. I’ve not taken huge leaps, but I’ve slowly developed. That’s where I see myself right now.”
Jorgenson relishes new responsibilities: ‘It’s an exciting role’
Last year, Jorgenson lit up the Tour with a string of searing attacks, including one on the Champs-Élysées on the final day.
This year, he’s been so impressive that Movistar team brass want Jorgenson’s consistent big motor to be near Mas when it counts deep in the Tour. Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard might start as the Tour’s five-star favorites, but Mas is right there in the front line of riders looking to spar for the final podium in Paris.
Riding to help Mas in the GC will only be a boon for Jorgenson’s unknown limitations as a rider.
“It’s an exciting role, and it’s something I need to work on and something I look at getting better at,” Jorgenson said in a telephone interview. “You need to know how to conserve and know when to help your leader. That job will help me in the future, and they need someone who can be there when it’s really needed. I am looking forward to challenging myself.”
My 2nd lap of France, vamos!! 🇫🇷 💛 https://t.co/yb5osz9qaU
— Matteo Jorgenson (@MatteoJorg) June 26, 2023
The increased responsibility and pressure are the next step in Jorgenson’s extraordinary and ever-steady improvement since joining the WorldTour in 2020.
In his Tour debut last year, Matteo Jorgenson dazzled in breakaways in the second half of the race, riding into three winning attacks. All three made it to the line, and Jorgenson scored two fourths and one fifth place.
That freedom came only after Mas faltered in the GC, and Movistar cut loose its rank-and-file to chase wins and much-needed UCI points.
“Last year I didn’t have the same physical level and I was not expected to be the last man,” he said of his different role for 2023. “I didn’t have any personal pressure. It was all for Enric, and as the race unfolded, after that first week, the team started to look for other opportunities, and I could attack.”
Those close calls last year at the Tour only confirmed his class and fueled his ambitions.
This spring, he’s upped the stakes by winning his first pro GC title at the Tour of Oman, hit his first WorldTour podium with second at the Tour de Romandie, and hit out for fourth and ninth, respectively, at E3 Saxo Classic and Tour of Flanders.
Jorgenson set to leave Movistar: ‘I have a lot to be thankful for’
Those big results will see him leave Movistar at the end of 2023 to head for another top WorldTour team, with rumors linking him to Ineos Grenadiers and Jumbo-Visma.
Jorgenson did not want to reveal publicly where he’s going, but Movistar boss Eusebio Unzué confirmed Jorgenson is leaving at the end of his 2023 contract after racing with the Spanish outfit for four seasons.
“I can only commend how the team’s treated me for four years. They developed me as a rider and raced me in a lot of races,” Jorgenson told Velo. “I have a lot of things to be thankful for. Eusebio saw something in me from the beginning, and I am very grateful for the opportunities they’ve given me.”
Jorgenson might see freedom again in this Tour if Mas struggles, but he’s firmly committed to helping his Spanish teammate all the way to Paris if the yellow jersey is on the line.
The best I can do is this photo of the gazpacho I’m currently putting away pic.twitter.com/RZ9GjI7CwB
— Matteo Jorgenson (@MatteoJorg) June 22, 2023
“We’ll race with the objective of the podium,” Jorgenson said. “Those two [Pogačar and Vingegaard] are a few levels ahead. But in a grand tour anything can happen, and there are no guarantees. The race for the podium should be intense.
“One of the things I remember last year is how much energy I put into the first week, and when you hit the third week, you think back to those efforts that might not have been necessary, and you start to realize that you pay for those later,” he said. “If I want legs in the third week, I have to be conscientious in the first week and try to conserve as much as I can.
“This year I can sit up and lose time,” he said. “Last year, I finished 20th on GC because in the last few mountain stages, I just hung on and did what I could to not lose time. 20th was cool, but anything past 10 places, no one is really competing for it. Everyone is doing a job or the team, and that’s the priority.”
Could someday Matteo Jorgenson be the first man on GC? Who knows. He admits he still hasn’t hit his limits or full potential. This Tour will be another journey of discovery.