Visma | Lease a Bike sees big opportunities for Vingegaard (and Van Aert) on familiar ground: "This makes us happy"

Grischa Niermann shared his thoughts on the route after the presentation. "It’s a beautiful Tour, starting with a series of tough stages in northern France, some very challenging mountain stages, and a nice climbing time trial. I think this route makes us quite happy," said the team director to VTM Nieuws. The route is tailor-made for their leader Jonas Vingegaard, so the desire for a comeback is strong. "Absolutely. I don’t think it’s a secret that Pogacar was almost unbeatable this year, and that on one hand, we knew we had gotten the maximum possible out of the Tour. On the other hand, we came to win."

The return of the Hautacam and the Col de la Loze will feel like coming home for Vingegaard. On these climbs, he secured his overall victories in 2022 and 2023, respectively. "Jonas has fond memories of the mountains, and he’s happy when he sees what's on the menu," Niermann told Eurosport. "But on the other hand, we also have to acknowledge that this year there was a clear difference, which means we have a lot of work to do. We believe that Jonas can perform better with a standard preparation, but Pogacar is the man to beat."

Their focus now turns to 2025. "Our ambition is to fight for it again next year and do everything we can to win the Tour," the German said. Will Wout van Aert also be part of the Tour squad? The Belgian is still recovering from a crash in the Vuelta a España and may choose to race in the Giro d’Italia, which he missed this year due to a spring crash. "We’re currently in the phase of discussing that. We have our ideas and plans, but Wout and Jonas are also bringing their own ideas to the table."

There are certainly opportunities for Van Aert: the first week is consistently challenging, with many short climbs. "The coming Tour has several stages that should suit Wout. They’re not all flat sprint stages. There’s a lot of up and down, with short, steep inclines ending in uphill sprints. So, I think this Tour should suit Wout well." The time trial also provides hope: a yellow jersey in the first week seems possible. "Absolutely. That’s right. We’re now going to carefully examine how these flat stages look and adjust our tactics a bit and consider: what’s possible here, and what are the options with the riders we have?"