How both plan A and plan B at Visma | LaB failed: "Pogacar was too strong" and "it's a shame Jonas isn't at his best"

There was little joy among the men of Visma | Lease a Bike after the nineteenth stage. The Dutch team saw leader Jonas Vingegaard once again lose seconds to the yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogacar, and Matteo Jorgenson fell just short of the stage win. Plan A was swapped for Plan B, but that plan also failed to materialize.

The defending champion Vingegaard's team switched strategies during the stage. Initially, the team opted for a plan centered around Vingegaard, aiming to attack Pogacar. For this, the team of sports manager Merijn Zeeman sent two riders on the attack: Jorgenson and Wilco Kelderman. "If you want to make things exciting and get something out of this Tour, you need riders up front," Zeeman said afterward to NOS.

With these two riders, Vingegaard would have had the ideal springboard to launch an attack. "The team was fantastic. Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert did a great job of getting those men up front. This allowed us to explore various scenarios."

Vingegaard's poor form: plan is switched

Towards the end of the race, as the focus shifted to the final climb of the day, the team management in the car received the signal that Vingegaard's legs were not in good shape. "He was not strong enough today to follow Tadej, that was clear. He knew this before the final climb, so we switched plans," said Grischa Niermann, the man in the follow car.

"Then we decided that he would ride defensively. Because when we saw UAE riding, it was clear that Tadej would be super strong. And Jonas said he didn’t have the legs to drop Tadej. So it was clear: we came here with the dream of winning the Tour. But we are also realistic: Jonas is currently the third best."

Thus, Plan A was tossed aside. The team switched to Plan B. Visma | Lease a Bike still had two riders in the breakaway. "At some point, we got the message to switch, to go for the stage win," Jorgenson said in the flash interview afterward. "Wilco immediately sacrificed himself. He’s such a good teammate. He didn’t ask anything from me and just went all in. That’s really special. I owe him a lot."

Jorgenson sees Pogacar approaching. 

Plan B: Kelderman gives his all for Jorgenson's stage win

Kelderman himself didn’t hesitate and began increasing the pace in the breakaway group. "In itself, I had a great day today. It was a fantastic day for me to ride at the front. I did talk with Matteo along the way. He was good, but so was I. But I know he’s a bit better, so I gave everything for Matteo," said the rider himself.

Even before the climb, the signal to push was given. And it wasn’t without reason. "We could calculate that they needed to have a four and a half minute lead at the foot of the climb to have a chance at the stage win," said Zeeman. "That calculation was correct. They had a four-minute lead and came up twenty seconds short at the finish."

Where Pogacar first dealt with Vingegaard, the Slovenian later did the same with Jorgenson, who was riding solo at the head of the race. "I did my best, but it wasn’t meant to be. I can’t be disappointed, but this is the Tour...," said the American. "I thought about my aching legs, but I had to ride at the fastest pace until the top. I didn’t really think about anything else, but when I heard Pogacar was coming, I got a bad feeling."

"Unprecedented" Pogacar deals Visma | Lease a Bike two fatal blows

“There was no remedy for this,” concluded Zeeman. “Unprecedented. Hats off to him. The team was fantastic. They fought for all they were worth, but we were caught a kilometer from the top. It’s a shame, a real shame. Pogacar was too strong.”

With two days left in this Tour de France, the overall victory for Pogacar now seems truly secured. “It’s clear that winning the Tour is no longer feasible,” says Kelderman. “The gap is so big, now we have to fight for the podium.”

“It’s a shame that Jonas isn’t at his best,” continues the man from Barneveld. “But it can’t always be a celebration. I’m proud that he keeps fighting. He also had a short preparation, so it’s understandable that he’s not at his best this deep into the Tour.”

Vingegaard’s form is no longer great. This, despite Zeeman repeatedly emphasizing that Vingegaard is still in good shape. “But today, there was no way to follow Pogacar. Vingegaard's form is still good. There are two days left. Yellow is no longer achievable this year. If second place is the best we can aim for, then so be it. The team still has two days to give everything they have.”