Sick and bruised, Visma Lease a Bike head into crucial stage 14 with a point to prove: 'That was a good sign'

On Saturday, the general classification contenders are likely to take center stage again in the Tour de France. Visma | Lease a Bike has already stated that it has “a plan” for the second half of the Tour de France. And we might see as early as Stage 14. In any case, on Friday after Stage 13, Marc Reef took explained his team’s situation to IDL Pro Cycling, among others.

First, let’s look at Friday’s stage itself. A large group broke away, finally getting the peloton’s blessing. “It was pretty controlled,” Reef analysed afterward. “Pidcock was in the breakaway, and there were quite a few teams that were afraid of losing a spot in the general classification. Because of that, it was pretty controlled.”

That certainly wasn’t a bad thing, considering what’s still to come. In fact, two tough mountain stages are coming up on Saturday and Sunday. How is Visma | Lease a Bike shaping up on the eve of the race? “Pretty good. Bruno (Armirail, ed.) is doing better and better. Matteo Jorgenson was also doing a bit better today. That was a good sign, too, but we’ll have to see how things go in the upcoming stages.”

Because Reef, of course, also knows that Armirail’s crash was a major setback. Jorgenson, for his part, was feeling a bit under the weather, so he was kept separate from the group as a precaution. These are, of course, major names, which means that Visma | Lease a Bike isn’t at full strength across the board.

According to Reef, Sepp Kuss is “doing just fine.” “He felt good on the Tourmalet; at that point, he was the only support rider left in the group, with everyone else being team leaders. Other than that, he finished the stage well today.” That was, of course, good news for Visma | Lease a Bike, which—following the setbacks for Armirail and Jorgenson—is not at full strength as a team.

Will that affect the Dutch team’s game plan? “We’ll have to see if it’s possible. As I said before, it’s important that everyone is at full strength before we can take advantage of that. We’re making progress step by step, but we’re not there yet. We’re still growing. The guys are on their way back, but that takes time.'

So we’ll just have to wait and see how Visma | Lease a Bike performs on Saturday. “It’s an important day, just as the next day will be very important. Sunday features a somewhat longer climb—about half an hour—and it’s also quite steep, with a true uphill finish. Tomorrow’s stage is very irregular. From the summit, there are still six kilometers to the finish line.”