Jorgenson, Kuss or someone else...? Visma | Lease a Bike is clear on what happens if Vingegaard does not go to the Tour

Before the Dauphiné opener, won by Mads Pedersen about a month before the Tour's Grand Départ, Kuss and Jorgenson spoke to the cycling press, including IDLProCycling.com. Kuss, last year's Vuelta winner, of course faced several questions about Vingegaard. "If Jonas does the Tour, you have a more specific focus and a concrete plan. If he's not there, it definitely changes things. But as an athlete, you still want to get the best out of it," he said ambitiously. "Fortunately, we know he's recovering well."

"I really hope Jonas makes it to the Tour," continued the ever-smiling Colorado native. "His crash was quite serious, so it's hard to say whether he'll be ready. He certainly wants to be, but you have to be at your best in the Tour. Jonas can win many races at 80 percent, but to ride the Tour de France against Pogacar, he needs to be at his best. Jonas is irreplaceable, so my specific goals and roles in the Tour depend on his participation. If he's not there, I might aim for the podium or other ambitions like winning stages or a jersey. That can be motivating, but it's important to be ambitious yet realistic."

But first, the Dauphiné, where he and Jorgenson will face opponents like Remco Evenepoel, Juan Ayuso and Primoz Roglic. "Normally, everyone participating in the Dauphiné is already in very good shape. All the usual suspects will make their presence felt and perform at a high level," Kuss said about the eight-day race in France. "I assume Remco will, too," he added, referring to Evenepoel's statement that he did not want to engage in the battle for the yellow jersey (in the Dauphiné). "I'm pretty sure he's in good form. But that applies to many of the guys. Many are coming back from a long period at altitude now. Then you never know exactly where you stand, so you also want to temper expectations in a race like this," Kuss said, showing understanding for Evenepoel's choice.

Kuss indicates that the Dauphiné is an extremely important race for him. "It's always a tough race. I'll have to see how it goes since I haven't raced since the Tour of the Basque Country (which ended on April 6, ed.). So it's definitely nice to be back in competition. I feel very good. There's a time trial in this race, but also many difficult mountain stages. I have to take it day by day, but I'm especially looking forward to the challenging final weekend," he added, looking ahead to what might be some extremely epic final stages.

We can certainly say the Dauphiné is kind of a dress rehearsal for the Tour de France, which Kuss also confirms. "You can't really come to the Dauphiné in lesser form. This race indeed gives a good indication of what racing in the Tour will be like. After that, there are still a few weeks to fine-tune things through training, although it probably won't be much."

Fellow countryman Jorgenson, who won the comparable race Paris-Nice earlier this year, agrees. "I'm really looking forward to this race. It's one I like riding and it serves as an important preparation for the Tour. With Sepp and me, the team has two interesting cards to play. We can share the leadership a bit. During a high-altitude training camp in the Sierra Nevada, I spent three weeks in a room with Sepp. That was actually the first time we were really together, as Americans among ourselves. So, appearing here together is also very cool."

"I don't actually feel any pressure," emphasized Jorgenson, who might have to pull more chestnuts out of the fire than he first thought. "I just want to show the best of myself. It will be difficult, just like Paris-Nice. But it will be a cool race, especially due to the grueling final weekend. I'm curious to see what I can show there. Sepp and I have different characteristics. He's better at climbing, I'm better at time trials and more explosive finishes. I'm curious to see how that plays out and where we can help or complement each other."

The above happened just before the start of stage number one. Literally just before the start, because as Kuss was giving his final pre-race remarks, the starting gun had almost sounded. The stage with Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule as both the start and finish culminated in a bunch sprint, with Pedersen as the laureate. The killer bees stayed out of trouble, making it a successful day for them, as team director Grischa Niermann also pointed out to this website, among others. "We got through the first stage well. We knew we would not win there, so the goal was to stay out of trouble. That was successful. Everyone is feeling good, so that's nice. I'm really looking forward to the tougher stages."

That is understandable, considering the selection of the yellow and black formation. This includes, for example, veteran and former classification spearhead Steven Kruijswijk. It was recently stated that the Dutchman from North Brabant is also in good form, something Niermann agrees with. "In my opinion, Steven is very well-prepared. That doesn't necessarily mean he'll be fighting for the podium in the Tour again this year. Of course, we have other guys for that. But Steven is indeed very good, and he has had a good preparation. He still has the Dauphiné to even get a bit better. After that, we'll see where we stand with him."

Niermann couldn't really avoid several questions about the plan for Vingegaard. "There are indeed many doubts about Jonas, but the morale within the team is still very strong. We obviously hope that Jonas feels fit enough to start in four weeks. But it's still too early to draw conclusions in that regard. We can't predict it either. Nonetheless, we still have a very strong team. Even without Jonas, should he indeed not be there, we can ride a very strong Tour," the optimistically inclined German concluded.

In conclusion, we address the stress levels in the team. It seems quite logical that these hectic times for Visma | Lease a Bike would include some more nervousness than usual. Will he make it or not? That sort of thing. Yet it seems that the tension is not too high within the team directors' brigade. "Do we, as team directors, feel stressed about it? It's actually not too bad. After all, we can't really influence it," Niermann replied in a matter-of-fact way. "It is what it is, that's how simple it is."

"Of course: we'd ideally start with a Jonas who is one hundred percent fit and fighting for the win. But that's just not the reality right now," he said, exuding a sense of relativism. "And it's not in our hands, nor in Jonas' hands. He's doing his utmost, that's all he can do after such a severe crash. We'll have to see how the situation evolves. We've won the Tour the past two years, no one can take that away from us. But of course, we also want to win it this year, and next year. But then you always have to row with the oars you have."