Visma | Lease a Bike clears negative perception: "The real goals come later"
Visma | Lease a Bike has suddenly been appearing very often in the news with negative headlines. The Tour of Oman, where only three of their seven riders finishing might symbolize the Dutch WorldTeam’s tough start to the season. Head of Racing Grischa Niermann continues to insist that he doesn’t want to entertain panic. Though there is still one sensitive topic left to discuss.
It’s quite something when you sum up all the stories surrounding Visma | Lease a Bike over the past weeks and months. It all began late last year when cyclocross world champion Fem van Empel abruptly hung up her bike, followed shortly after by Giro winner Simon Yates doing the exact same. At the team’s press presentation in January, those issues and the strict regime were more the focus than the big sporting ambitions.
But the team is also struggling on the sporting front. Of course, Matthew Brennan already won a stage at the Tour Down Under. Yet their classic leader, Wout van Aert, suffered a small ankle fracture during the Zilvermeercross in Mol. This initially wiped out his cyclocross season, but it also meant his spring preparation was far from ideal.
In the meantime, he is working on his comeback in Sierra Nevada, aiming for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Last week, Jonas Vingegaard had to withdraw from the UAE Tour after a crash and illness, meaning the team’s second big leader also faced a setback.
"A lot of bad luck"
“We’ve had quite a bit of bad luck,” Niermann admits from Oman in front of our camera. “Just in this race alone, three riders have crashed and two have fallen ill. It’s not what we expected. But there’s not much you can do against it. It is what it is, but we’re dealing with it well and have kept trying to get the best out of the situation.”
Earlier this week, the German team director already gave a reassuring update on the condition of Van Aert and Vingegaard, both of whom are back on their bikes. “Looking at everything together, no one on our team has been hit so hard that we need to revise our main plans. In that sense, this won’t have major consequences. You always have things that set back your preparation,” he explained.
“We do have to adjust some races, especially since Jonas won’t ride the UAE Tour. But that’s no disaster,” Niermann continues. “The big targets come later in the year. Wout is doing fine in training. He hadn’t planned any races but a training camp at altitude, which he’s doing as planned. There are more enjoyable things to aim for during this period of the year. But at this moment, there’s absolutely no panic.”
“In the end, it’s better to have bad luck now that slows you down than during the season when the big goals are approaching,” the sporting head of Visma | Lease a Bike repeats when asked. “At this moment, I see no problems heading to the important races for our leaders.”
Still adding Vingegaard?
According to Niermann, both staff and riders are handling the setbacks well. “Things were extreme here in Oman, but as a team, you always have to be able to adapt. That’s part of cycling.” In that light, it’s interesting that Niermann said at the start of the week that the Tour of Catalonia would "probably" remain Vingegaard’s next race, while we now hear that the team is considering all options—including Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice. Niermann previously stated that the Dane won’t be racing at 80% effort.
Notably, only one issue appears harder to put into perspective. Before the interview, Niermann warned the team does not want to comment further on the sudden departure of Tim Heemskerk, the successful coach of Jonas Vingegaard among others. It’s perhaps one of the team’s biggest setbacks, but the German says he has nothing to add beyond the official press release.
