An ambitious yet transitional year: how the Visma | Lease a Bike women's team plans to make Plugge's goal a reality

On Tuesday, Visma | Lease a Bike presented its plans and ambitions for 2025. For the men’s team, the objectives—winning races like the Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, and the Tour de France—remain much the same. But for the women’s squad, this season could mark the beginning of a new chapter. “With the women, we also want to grow into the best team in the world,” CEO Richard Plugge emphasized during his presentation.

You can see how Plugge and co plan to achieve this by looking at the team’s transfer policy. On one hand, there’s the arrival of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who hopes to tick off her final major goal in the coming years under the Visma | Lease a Bike banner: winning the Tour de France Femmes. The partner of Dylan van Baarle will go all out to do it, but she knows it won’t happen overnight.

On the other hand, the team has also brought in three future pillars with Marion Brunel, Viktoria Chladonova, and Imogen Wolff. Last year, Brunel, a French rider, won the Tour de l’Avenir Femmes and finished 17th in the “big” Tour de France Femmes at just 19 years old. She also placed fifth in the UAE Tour, for instance. Meanwhile, Wolff took third place in the Junior Time Trial at the World Championships, where Chladonova finished second.

Chladonova also hopes to develop into a Grand Tour rider. “My dream is to one day win a Grand Tour. I really love the long climbs,” she said at the presentation in front of around seventy journalists, as well as an audience that included Wout van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard, and Marianne Vos. Quite a statement to make at just 18 years old. Chladonova and Wolff also combine road racing with cyclo-cross, much like Fem van Empel does.

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Vos sees that Visma | Lease a Bike and women’s cycling are still evolving

Visma | Lease a Bike may have lost considerable horsepower and experience to Lidl-Trek when Riejanne Markus and Anna Henderson departed, but within its own ranks—alongside the previously mentioned talents—it still has potential replacements in riders like Lieke Nooijen and Fem van Empel. “We want half of our riders to win a race, so we have more new names at the top,” says team manager Rutger Tijssen.

Still, Tijssen is cautious not to get ahead of himself, which might be tempting with big names like Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot on the roster. Vos herself is, of course, as ambitious as ever: “I hope to be contending for wins with the team again, and to get the best out of myself. I’m really looking forward to the spring classics—especially Milan–San Remo, Paris–Roubaix, and the Amstel Gold Race. The Tour de France is obviously another big goal for me.”

At the same time, the versatile Dutch rider acknowledges that her team—and women’s cycling as a whole—are still very much in development. “Every year, the team makes huge strides, and that’s great to see. I was part of the squad when it started, and seeing how it’s grown is very rewarding. Hopefully in 2025, we can continue to develop. In terms of training, but also in tactics and strategies, I can still improve. Plus, racing has changed, and the level is higher now. Over the years, all these factors have evolved. This year, I hope I can keep developing too.”

In the spring, Nooijen and Van Empel also hope to step into the spotlight. “In my first year, I was able to make huge progress, particularly in the classics and in time trials,” says Nooijen. “Next year, I hope to take even bigger steps there and also improve in stage races, so in the coming years I can tackle Grand Tours.” Van Empel shares that ambition: “In road races, I’d like to play a bigger role in the finale,” she notes as a key area for growth. “If you want to win races or help the team, it’s important to be there in the end. By training more, learning from my teammates, and gaining more race experience, I hope to take some steps forward this year.”

“My race schedule isn’t completely fixed yet, but I’ll be on the start line at Strade Bianche, Milano-Sanremo Donne, Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, and the Brabantse Pijl. In these classics, I hope to play a key role for the team. I also hope to make another appearance in the Tour de France Femmes,” says the cyclo-cross world champion.

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Ferrand-Prévot advocates realism ahead of the Tour de France Femmes

Ferrand-Prévot is primarily targeting the Tour de France Femmes, though she’s realistic enough to know it won’t be easy. “It’s my ultimate goal,” she says, “but I’ll need some time to settle in, so realism is the priority for now. In 2025, I mainly want to learn and see where we can improve. The most important thing is that we give it everything we have, so we can’t say afterward that we left anything on the table.”

“I especially want to be 100% prepared for the Tour. That way, I won’t have any regrets afterward. We don’t yet know what I’m capable of achieving. The main thing is that my team and I do all we can to arrive at the start in top condition, and then we’ll see what’s possible,” says the experienced French rider, a (former) world champion in virtually every cycling discipline. “This coming edition will be a learning process, so we’ll see what can be improved for the future. In the years ahead, I might come back with loftier ambitions, but for now, I think I still need time to work toward the absolute highest level.”

Ferrand-Prévot will make her debut in the UAE Tour. “My first major personal goal will be Strade Bianche. I think it’s a beautiful race, and I also believe the course profile suits me well. I love challenges, and I want to win races and create great memories with the team, alongside riders like Marianne,” she says. Later in the spring, she will also compete in Milano-Sanremo, the Ardennes classics, and the Vuelta, before turning her focus to the Tour.

2025 is therefore both an ambitious and transitional year for the women of Visma | Lease a Bike. “We want to improve step by step and give Pauline the time she needs to fully adapt to road cycling again. With Marianne as an experienced leader and a talented team around them, we have a strong foundation to achieve something special—not just in 2025 but also in the years to come,” concludes Rutger Tijssen.

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