Bruyneel suspects Vingegaard coach didn’t leave Visma “just like that”: “It smells like a conflict”

First, Wout van Aert crashed during his cyclocross winter. In the Mol cyclo-cross race he fractured his ankle, leaving his preparation for the road season far from ideal. Meanwhile, Simon Yates unexpectedly decided to retire from cycling. And then there was Tim Heemskerk, the coach of, among others, Jonas Vingegaard, who left the team. Three sizeable setbacks for Visma | Lease a Bike.

Bruyneel discussed the team’s turbulent start to the year on the THEMOVE podcast. “The two things that stand out are, first of all, Simon Yates stopping so suddenly,” he explained. “That was strange, but he’ll have his reasons. And now one of the key coaches is leaving. That press release sounds very strange.”

Heemskerk explained his departure in the statement: “Over the past period, I have noticed that I was struggling to continue applying my creativity and passion, which are important to me in my work as a coach,” he said. “That was the moment for me to be honest with myself and with the team.” For Vingegaard, it means losing an important link in the chain behind his success.

Bruyneel doesn’t believe it happened without a deeper reason. According to the former US Postal team boss, there is likely more going on behind the scenes. “It smells like there’s been a conflict — between the coach and Richard Plugge, or the Head of Performance (Mathieu Heijboer),” he said. “I don’t know exactly where it comes from, but it has to be.”

Even so, he doesn’t see it as a disaster scenario. “The coach is there for Jonas — someone with years of experience — to support him,” Bruyneel argued. “He’s not going to teach them brand-new secrets; they already know what they need to do. Not much will change, except the way a new coach might interpret performance differently. And whatever this coach did, he also shared it with the other coaches. So I don’t see it as a huge problem.”

For Bruyneel, it remains guesswork what triggered the departure — and the possible friction behind it. “You trust a coach: someone who listens and picks up on certain signals,” he said. “It’s constant communication, and based on that, plans get adjusted. Were his plans not being executed? Was he not allowed to? Maybe that’s where the conflict was.”