Ask Jonas Vingegaard the secret to his success, and he’ll point to his eight years with Dutch coach Tim Heemskerk. “He’s one of the best coaches out there,” the two-time Tour de France champion said in March, shortly after Heemskerk departed Visma-Lease a Bike. “He was more than just my coach – he is a good friend… I had complete trust in him. Tim is hard to replace.”

In early May, Heemskerk was announced as the latest person to join the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe staff as the German team continue their bid to challenge UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Visma-Lease a Bike at the Tour.

To launch Cycling Weekly‘s new Masterminds of Performance series exploring the philosophies of the world’s best coaches, Heemskerk shares the wisdom gleaned from three decades in the sport. “I wouldn’t say coaching is an experiment,” he says. “It’s applied science and art, which you implement using your intuition.”

This article was published in Cycling Weekly magazine in June 2026. To read the full article click here.