Visma | Lease a Bike confident they can catch up with Pogacar: "We can close that gap"

Initially, it was uncertain if Jonas Vingegaard would even be at the start in Florence. The severe crash in the Tour of the Basque Country earlier this year put the Dane and his team in a very difficult position. "At the beginning of the season, we aimed for the overall victory, but that view was clouded by Jonas' crash," Zeeman tells De Telegraaf. Ultimately, Vingegaard did start at the Grand Départ. The Dane wanted to defend his title at all costs and went head-to-head with Tadej Pogacar.

The Slovenian proved to be a few sizes too big this Tour. "This is the best version of him we've ever seen," said Zeeman, who saw the great rival win six stages. Earlier, the sporting director was critical of Pogi's insatiable hunger. Zeeman now states that this comment was taken out of context. "The question was more general, about whether you should let someone else win," Zeeman explains. "I responded that our team has experienced that when you win a lot, you make enemies. In 2022, no one congratulated us anymore because we won the Tour and five stages. The outside world also finds it difficult when you win a lot. I never said Pogacar should give anything away, that's up to him. In fact, I completely understand wanting to win a lot and have nothing but respect for him and his team."

Pogacar's dominant performance raises critical and doubtful voices. Is what he does even possible? "It's quite funny, and I mean that cynically," responds Zeeman. "Last year, we got those comments. You can set your clock to when the booing and insinuations start. It's unjust. Let it be clear that it's good there are critical questions from the media and that we are self-critical." The criticism must have a basis in reality, says the future general director of Dutch soccer club AZ. "It's unfounded. If someone just says something, you can't do anything with it. It's especially unfair when you see the sacrifices, efforts and dedication these riders put into their sport. Pogacar has lived like a monk for the past four months with high-altitude training and racing both the Giro and Tour. He has worked very hard, and that deserves respect."

Visma | Lease a Bike tried to compete with Pogacar with an alternative team assembled around Vingegaard. Without the injured and ill Steven Kruijswijk, Dylan van Baarle and Sepp Kuss. "Yet we managed to ride the Tour with a team that was ready for it. I'm proud that it's now about our sporting achievements again. As a team, we made a significant impact on this Tour, competing with Pogacar," says Zeeman, who found few faults with his team. "The team did fantastically, including Matteo Jorgenson, who finished eighth. Jonas wins a stage and finishes second, although we wanted to win this Tour."

Continue reading below the photo.

This sentiment is echoed by general director Richard Plugge, who is proud of his team's adaptability but believes the Dutch team needs to change. "I think we need to reinvent ourselves," Plugge tells AD. "But we do that every year. I'm going on vacation for two weeks now, to think on a mountain, and then we'll start again. I always did that with Merijn, now we'll do it with more people. We are going to take the next step," he asserts determinedly.

With a second place in the bag, Visma | Lease a Bike is satisfied for now, but not for the future. "The way I see it, I think we've been very visible this Tour. We were the only team that made it difficult for Pogacar, throwing a wrench in the works. The way we fought fits the team we want to be. If you then finish second, so be it. Jonas did a fantastic job, and the team did a fantastic job," says Plugge.

The director, like Zeeman, states that the context of the months before the Tour only makes his team's performance more impressive. "I'm very happy we were at the start. If we have a flawless preparation next year, it will be a different story. We're going to analyze how we can do that. This includes looking into why we've had so many crashes. We're already analyzing that. Pogacar was on another level this year, but that gap can be bridged."

Continue reading below the photo.

With the loss of key players Kruijswijk and Kuss, Visma | Lease a Bike had to adjust. One of the last-minute substitutes was Bart Lemmen. The debutant finished the Tour and is very proud of that achievement. "I think it's one of the achievements I'm most proud of in my entire life," Lemmen beams in front of the NOS microphone. "I had a great time, and it was also very tough, all those clichés are true. We did very well as a team, so I look back on three very beautiful weeks."

What was Lemmen's highlight of his first Tour? "That we really fought as a team, made plans and executed them every day. That I could contribute to that, considering where I came from, no one expected that." Given the not-so-ideal preparation and the fact that this was his first grand tour, Lemmen is positively surprised by his form in the third week. "Yesterday (Saturday, ed.), in the first part of the stage, there were still twenty, twenty-five riders. Hopefully, this promises much more for the coming years. I've learned to trust the people who select me, they know what they're doing."

Wilco Kelderman, of course, did not ride his first Tour de France. The Dutchman was ready when Kruijswijk and Van Baarle dropped out. "It wasn't planned, this Tour. I had a good preparation and rode a good Tour. I was in good form and was able to be valuable to the team. Especially on the flat stages, I did my job. It's a pity we couldn't be as decisive as last year," he tells the NOS. What was Kelderman most proud of this Tour? "The final weekend, the last mountain stages, I was really good, that's my terrain. I was very happy with that. Overall, the atmosphere within the team was also very good, which is very important. I think we never gave up and fought every day."