Visma | Lease a Bike heads into the Dauphiné at full strength: "The competition is strong with Pogacar and Evenepoel"

So, it will be the first duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar, which the Killer Bees are eagerly looking forward to. "The riders are in good shape," said Head of Racing Grischa Niermann in a press release. "Most of them are returning after a long altitude camp and are eager to return to racing. The Dauphiné is of course a preparation race, but it’s also a proper competition. We’ll try to win it – simply because we always line up with the ambition to win."

To win, Visma | Lease a Bike will have to pull out all the stops, because with such a strong field of competitors, it won’t be a walk in the park. "The course is very tough," says Niermann. "The time trial on day four is a good test of strength, and the final mountain stages are really challenging. That’s when we’ll see where we currently stand."

The team has a former winner of the French stage race at the start in Vingegaard, while Matteo Jorgenson, who is back again this year, was on the podium last year. "Those are things that give us confidence heading into this week," said Niermann, who is expecting an exciting battle. "Jonas is of course our leader. The competition is strong – with Tadej Pogačar and also Remco Evenepoel – but we always focus on ourselves. It’s a great opportunity to see where we stand. We’re well prepared. Everything is on track."

For the Killer Bees, the Dauphiné is, in their own words, "a carefully mapped-out path to the Tour. The Dauphiné is ideal because it combines well with a final training block before the Tour," as the team will be heading to Tignes after the French WorldTour race. "It has worked well for us in recent years – not just in terms of logistics, but also because the Dauphiné is a top-level race that never lies."

Visma | Lease a Bike is, therefore, starting with the intention to win, although it is not putting any pressure on itself. "If we don’t win the Dauphiné, it’s not the end of the world. Obviously, the bigger goal is the Tour de France. But we’ll do everything we can to win the Dauphiné as well. Wherever we race, we race to win. That’s the ambition we all share."

In addition to Vingegaard and Jorgenson, the Dutch team is counting on Sepp Kuss, Ben Tulett, Attila Valter, Victor Campenaerts, and Per Strand Hagenes. The latter was not on the start list, but the young Norwegian was called up at the last minute after Axel Zingle had to withdraw due to a nasty fracture.

Jonas VingegaardBen TulettVictor Campenaerts