NOS Skating•yesterday, 3:21 PM
After Jutta Leerdam’s departure from Jumbo-Visma, the big question is: what will she do next? Will she work for another team, start her own team or will the top skater work alone for the time being towards the 2026 Winter Games in Milan? In any case, the KNSB skating association will continue to support her in her Olympic dream.
For weeks, Leerdam and the management of Jumbo-Visma discussed a new contract for the skating star. In the end there was no white smoke and on Monday it became clear that the ways were parting. “Because it’s time for something different,” Leerdam said on her Instagram.
The 1,000-meter specialist is now enjoying a holiday in Puerto Rico, but she will also have to think further about her future there.
“It is very annoying for her that she is searching. That has to do with the standard she imposes on herself, although that is also very good,” says Remy de Wit, technical director at the KNSB.
‘We facilitate the ice and the weight rooms’
The 25-year-old Leerdam will in any case be welcome in Thialf in the near future to train during top sports hours. The KNSB would like to help her in the run-up to the 2026 Winter Games.
“We facilitate skaters who do not have a team and are in the highest category with the ice and the weight rooms. Leerdam belongs in that category with an A status and the medals she has won,” says De Wit.
But with an ice rink and some weights you don’t have a trainer or coach who will put you on the right track. The KNSB will not facilitate this. “But in the past we have had individual top players in a similar situation. Jutta is important for the sport and if she had that question, we would of course think along with her. We help where we can.”
But training alone in Thialf is not optimal for the skater either. Sparring partners are desirable.
Tuitert about Leerdam’s options: ‘She needs someone who maps out the route to the Games’
The fact that Leerdam can still go to Thialf only applies to her as an individual. There is also a possibility that Leerdam will choose to form a new team herself, which she has done in the past with her then boyfriend Koen Verweij.
But it is not the case that she can simply use the same facilities in Thialf with her own team, says the KNSB.
“If she sets up her own team, she must meet the licensing requirements drawn up by the KNSB. I cannot say more about that now, but if she chooses to do so, we will of course look at the possibilities.”
To another team?
Finally, there is also the option for the multiple world champion to join an existing team. For example, she already spoke with Team Reggeborgh, but that came to nothing. The AH Zaanlander team is also not an option, coach Jillert Anema noted in De Telegraaf.
Leerdam also had contact with Martin ten Hove of Team IKO, for whom she also skated at the beginning of her career.
“At first it seemed difficult to us to be able to pay her. But it soon became clear in the conversations that she is not concerned about finances, but about where things can best work out for her in terms of sports,” Ten Hove said.
