Niermann dissects Vuelta on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike: different role for himself, supporting Vingegaard and not a TTT favorite

Niermann, as usual, doesn’t beat around the bush: “We know how to win grand tours, and it’s clear that we’re starting the Vuelta with Jonas and a strong team around him to win. It won’t be easy, but our ambition to win the race is obvious.”

“We have a clear vision of how we’re going to win the Vuelta,” said the German, “but as always, I won’t be revealing our tactics. There are ten uphill finishes, starting with one on the second day and the last on the penultimate day. So, you need to be in shape from start to finish. Which days are crucial for us? You’ll see over the next three weeks.”

On paper, Matteo Jorgenson and former winner Sepp Kuss seem to be the riders who can support Vingegaard the longest, and possibly provide a tactical advantage against the competition. “Jonas is our leader, that’s clear. We have strong guys around him, including Matteo and Sepp. But Jonas is simply the team leader,” Niermann clarifies.

The absence of Tadej Pogacar, the top rival from UAE Emirates-XRG, doesn’t change much. “We’re starting again from zero. João Almeida and Juan Ayuso have the qualities to win a grand tour, but we believe we’re stronger and that we can beat them.”

Two riders will make their grand tour debut for Visma | Lease a Bike: Briton Ben Tulett and Frenchman Axel Zingle. “We selected Ben and Axel because they’re strong. Ben has already raced really well this year, and Axel, for example, was already with the team during Paris–Nice, where he also performed well.”

“He had a bad crash in May, but he’s back now. All in all, we’ve simply selected the best possible team to support Jonas,” says Niermann. Zingle could also play a role in the sprint on day one, by finishing early and giving Visma | Lease a Bike’s team car a favorable position on day two. Jorgenson had a similar role on stage one of the Tour, as shown in the Dutch team’s Tour documentary that will be released Friday morning.

The rest of the lineup includes Victor Campenaerts, Dylan van Baarle, and Wilco Kelderman, powerful riders who can also play a role in the team time trial on day five. “The TTT is a very beautiful discipline. We won the TTT in Paris–Nice this year, and it would be great to compete for the win again. But when I look at the start list, I don’t immediately see us as top favorites. And I think the time gaps on this fast and flat course won’t be very big.”

Finally, Visma | Lease a Bike has chosen a different race coach than in the Tour, with Dane Jesper Mørkøv and Belgian Maarten Wynants taking charge. “Jesper is making a very good impression. Together with Maarten, he will handle race coaching, while I’ll be operating more in the background. We have a lot of confidence in them. Jesper is a very good coach and knows a lot about sprinting, since he usually works with Olav Kooij. Plus, it’s nice that Jonas will be able to speak Danish with him from time to time.”