Louis Barré finally delivers for Visma | Lease a Bike: ‘Our week can’t go wrong anymore’

Visma | Lease a Bike had another reason to celebrate at the Tour de Pologne. After Bart Lemmen won stage 4, two days later it was Louis Barré’s turn, as the Frenchman claimed the first professional victory of his career. The one blemish on the day was the loss of the yellow leader’s jersey with only the final time trial remaining, but the Dutch team is still very well placed in the battle for overall victory.

Lemmen had struck in the rain-soaked fourth stage after the race was neutralized following a major crash. The Dutchman rode solo to his first professional victory, and two days later teammate Barré followed his example. For the Frenchman, who is in his first season with Visma | Lease a Bike, the victory carried even greater significance.

Barré made an excellent impression in Intermarché-Wanty colors last season, but endured a difficult start to life with the Killer Bees. He missed virtually the entire spring Classics campaign, the period in which he would normally be expected to shine. The following months were also extremely difficult because of persistent illness. Only in August did things really begin to click again — and in some style, as he crossed the finish line of stage 6 of the Tour de Pologne with his arms in the air.

“I finished fifth and third earlier this week, so I was determined to win a stage,” Barré said on his team's website. “I’ve been in excellent form for quite some time now, and I picked the right moment to attack. Today, I absolutely have to thank my teammates for all their hard work. This victory belongs to all of us. Tomorrow, I’ll give it everything I have in the time trial and see where I end up.”

Having race leader Lemmen in the group behind allowed Visma | Lease a Bike to neutralize attacks from the chasing riders. “Louis told us early on that he was feeling good and wanted to go for the win,” sports director Robert Wagner explained. “When he attacked, the team tactics were executed perfectly. Everyone on the team wants to see each other succeed, and that makes us so strong. We can say that the strongest rider won today.”

There was one small setback for Visma | Lease a Bike: Lemmen lost the leader’s jersey. Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) finished second and gained five seconds on the Dutchman, as well as bonus seconds. The Italian now leads Barré by three seconds, with Lemmen another two seconds back. The final stage of the Tour de Pologne is a 12.5-kilometer individual time trial, and the margins immediately behind the leading trio are also small. Wilco Kelderman remains 13th overall, 38 seconds off the lead. The stage result and GC situation underline just how open the race remains ahead of the final test against the clock.

That means the overall victory could still go in several directions. “We’re in a good position in the overall standings with Louis, Bart and Wilco,” Wagner said. “Anything is still possible in tomorrow’s time trial. Our week can’t go wrong anymore. Two of our riders have claimed their first professional victories here. A spot on the final podium would be the icing on the cake.”