Looking ahead to the Tour de France, Plugge sees a respectful relationship with UAE even after Giro win: "Pogačar is phenomenal at that"

The Visma train appears to be back on track after a somewhat disappointing spring campaign. The Killer Bees took a spectacular and tactically brilliant victory at the Giro d’Italia with Simon Yates, sealing the win in a dramatic stage 20 finale. For Richard Plugge, it marked yet another Grand Tour triumph in Visma | Lease a Bike colours, adding Yates to a list that already includes Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič.

According to the 55-year-old Dutchman, there is a simple reason behind this success. "I think we try to put together a very good race programme and to build a very good team. Our team culture, which Wout van Aert really embodies, is about giving 100 percent for each other and helping each other to win," Plugge told Cyclingnews.

Yates’s Giro victory is a perfect example of that team spirit, Plugge believes. "Simon is obviously very strong, maybe stronger than ever, but now he also has a team working for him, sacrificing for him and putting him in the right position during the race. For example, when crashes happened, we were exactly where we needed to be. Of course, there is always an element of luck, but it is also about being in the right place at the right time, and that is where the team makes a huge difference. This is how we do it. We win together, we lose together," Plugge said.

That is exactly the mindset Visma | Lease a Bike will bring into the Tour de France. There, Jonas Vingegaard, who is already sharpening his form for the race, will face stiff competition from Tadej Pogačar, last year’s dominant Tour winner. Yet between the Dutch squad and UAE Team Emirates-XRG, there is nothing but respect. "Mauro Gianetti and I just spoke, and there is a lot of mutual respect between us," Plugge said after Yates claimed the maglia rosa from UAE star Isaac Del Toro on stage twenty of the Giro.

In fact, it is this rivalry with the Emirati squad that drives Visma | Lease a Bike to greater heights. "They push us to become better, and I think that is what makes sport truly beautiful. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and then you think to yourself: next time, I need to beat them. It all comes from respect. That is what makes this sport, and any sport, so incredibly exciting," Plugge added.

How the balance of power between the sport’s big stars will play out remains to be seen. The upcoming Critérium du Dauphiné will offer fans a first small taste of what is to come. Plugge is certainly looking forward to the Tour. "Winning the Giro has not changed our ambitions for the Tour. We know that Jonas has taken another step forward this winter, but we are facing a very strong rival. I do think that in a three-week race they will be closer to each other than in the one-day races, where Pogačar is phenomenal. It will be fascinating to see how far we can take it."