Richard Plugge sees team make history again: "first rider of this generation to win all grand tours"

On Sunday in Rome, Jonas Vingegaard looks set to secure his fourth overall victory in a Grand Tour. The Dane from Team Visma | Lease a Bike put the finishing touches on the final mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia by convincingly riding to his fifth stage win. Team manager Richard Plugge witnessed his leader’s performance up close and saw how his squad made history once again.

"It’s incredible how the team rode together again today. Everyone is paying the price after three weeks of racing, but Jonas is still the strongest. That’s amazing to see," was Plugge’s first response to the camera of Eurosport. The Dutch team boss knows there is still one stage left to ride in Rome but is euphoric about his GC contender’s performance.

'History written again'
"We have made history again by having the first rider in this era to win all three Grand Tours," said Plugge. Vingegaard joins an exclusive group of eight riders who have all won the three different Grand Tours. The best rider of this Giro already won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023, followed by a Vuelta overall win in 2025.

For Plugge, the season cannot get any better. "We won Paris-Roubaix with Wout and now the Giro with Jonas, and he will again be a challenger in the Tour de France, but for now let’s just let this sink in. I’m very proud of the team," Plugge concluded, summarizing Visma | Lease a Bike’s successful spring campaign.