Visma-Lease a Bike provided spectacle right away on Saturday in the first stage of the Tour de France. The team of leader Jonas Vingegaard caused a split in the peloton with 20 kilometers to go. Exactly as planned in advance.
Kilometer 164. Those were the magic words at Visma-Lease Bike on Saturday. Just outside the town of Houplines, the course of the first Tour stage made a turn, so the wind came fully from the side and there were no more houses to protect the riders.
The staff of the Dutch team had scouted the last 60 kilometers of the opening stage on Friday. Kilometer 164 was circled in red. “That was the spot where we thought: the peloton will break up once more,” said first team leader Grischa Niermann after the stage. “And then we can take care of it ourselves rather than have another team do it.”
And so all eight riders of Visma-Lease a Bike were ready for the pre-arranged plan with 20 kilometers to go in Lille. “Somehow we managed to stay together well in the chaos of this stage,” says Matteo Jorgenson.
The acceleration at the head of the peloton had the desired effect. A group of just under forty riders broke away. This included Tour favorite Vingegaard and his teammates Tiesj Benoot and Jorgenson. Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic were taken by surprise. They immediately lost 39 seconds on day one. “The plan worked,” Jorgenson concludes.
Van der Poel was surprised by move from Visma
Evenepoel, who finished third in the Tour last year, like most top riders, was at the front of the peloton throughout the stage, surrounded by teammates. All teams knew that the wind could play an important role in Northern France. Yet a large part of the peloton reacted too late to the action of Visma-Lease a Bike.
“We let ourselves be lulled to sleep by the calmness in the group,” says Evenepoel after the race. “It’s a mistake by us, collectively.”
Mathieu van der Poel is in the first group. The Dutchman helps his teammate Jasper Philipsen to the stage win and the first yellow jersey in the last kilometer, but he too was surprised by Visma-Lease a Bike’s coup.
“It was stressful all day, but there was never really a split in the peloton,” says Van der Poel. “I didn’t expect it anymore. Fortunately, we were very attentive at the front during Visma’s move. As a result, we had five riders in the first group.”
The only blemish on Visma-Lease a Bike’s good day was that the team had ‘only’ three riders in the first echelon. Wout van Aert wasn’t there and therefore couldn’t sprint for the win. Luxury servant Simon Yates, last month the glorious winner of the Giro d’Italia, was not feeling well and lost more than six minutes.
“That’s why I call this a good start to the Tour, not a perfect start,” says Niermann. “But you just can’t plan everything 100 percent. The most important thing is that Jonas was at the front and gained time on a number of competitors.”
Vingegaard, who with his 58 kilos is not made for fighting against the wind, showed himself emphatically in the last 20 kilometers. He did a number of turns at the front and did not have any difficulty at any point.
“Jonas rode impressively,” says Jorgenson. “I think it’s great to see him fight like that in the crosswinds. That goes against his nature, but he is so strong. He can excel in all areas.”
Unfortunately for Visma-Lease a Bike, that also applies to defending champion Tadej Pogacar. Vingegaard’s biggest competitor was in the first group and lost no time. “It would have been a big boost for us if we had gained time on Tadej,” says Niermann. “But even now the boys rode great.”
In any case, it is clear that we do not have to wait for the mountain stages for the battle between Vingegaard and Pogacar. “We showed today that we are here to win the Tour,” says Jorgenson. “But this was only the first battle. The war is far from over.”