Aggressive Visma | Lease a Bike wiped out in Catalonia: "You don't always get what you aim for"

There were many stories unfolding in the Tour of Catalonia this week, in the shadow of Tadej Pogacar's one-man show. Of course, we were paying extra attention to Visma | Lease a Bike. The best stage racing team of 2023 had a relatively unremarkable round, results-wise. On Saturday afternoon, we saw veterans Steven Kruijswijk and Robert Gesink still excelling at the front of the elite group, but the Sepp Kuss' fifteenth place was very disappointing. On Sunday, only Attila Valter crossed the finish line among the best.

In the queen stage on Saturday, an attack was initiated - not for the first time in this tour - but the American team leader did not have the legs to follow through. Shadow leader Cian Uijtdebroeks was also not a factor. This led to resignation and humility within the Dutch team, which no longer had a rider in the top ten of the general classification after the sixth stage. "Of course, we had hoped for more. Our goal before the stage began was to climb higher in the general classification together with Sepp and Cian," said team director Marc Reef.

However, the Dutch coach had to admit that his leaders were not up to par. "We had confidence, but unfortunately, they did not have good legs on Saturday. Sepp regrouped well on the final climb, but the energy tank was empty. We went for it, but we did not succeed. This result was the best we could achieve. We have to accept that. Also, it will be a tough final stage in Barcelona on Sunday. Steven made a good impression today. Moreover, Attila has proven in the past that the climb up Montjuïc suits him well. We will see what is still possible for us," he said at the time.

Valter finishes among frontrunners, Visma | Lease a Bike not satisfied

On Sunday, it was indeed Valter who finished in the leading group, though the Hungarian did so not in the sprint for the win, but in twelfth place. Reef draws his conclusions about the week in Spain: "This race did not go entirely as we had envisioned. However, the fighting spirit of the men is commendable. When things don't fall into place, it's important to show character. And that is what we saw this week. You don't always get what you aim for. That's just how it works. Now, it's important for the riders who started here to recover well and focus on the upcoming goals, as they are coming up quickly."