Visma | Lease a Bike celebrates in Poland and Burgos but rues missed Barré opportunity: ‘There was more in it’

All eyes on Friday were focused on stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes, with its finish on Mont Ventoux. It was therefore easy to overlook the fact that the men were racing as well. At the Tour de Pologne, the riders faced a brutal uphill finish, while the Vuelta a Burgos ended in a sprint. Visma | Lease a Bike had plenty to celebrate in both races.

In Poland, it was Jan Christen who had reason to celebrate after the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider won the punchy uphill finish. It was a welcome boost after almost the entire UAE team hit the deck in stage 4, with three riders eventually forced to abandon the race. “I didn't feel good after the crash, but with 40 kilometres to go I started feeling better and better and began to believe.”

“It’s my first WorldTour victory, so I couldn’t be happier,” Christen said after the win, which moved him up to fourth in the general classification. “I had to stay calm and time my sprint well to beat Marco [Brenner]. I was confident it was possible. This gives the team a boost after what has been a difficult week for us in Poland with all the crashes.”

Why did Visma | Lease a Bike also come away feeling like a winner in Poland? Bart Lemmen finished 11th, five seconds behind Christen, and successfully defended his yellow leader’s jersey. “Everything went almost exactly as we had discussed. We had a good day as a team. It’s just a shame that Louis [Barré] couldn’t win. He went a little too deep on the final climb, but after that he still rode an incredibly strong climb.”

Sports director Robert Wagner watched Barré finish third and admitted in a team press release that the result left them with mixed feelings. “There was more in it, and that is disappointing. The penultimate stage will be a difficult one. It isn't a long stage, but the circuit is extremely demanding in terms of its profile. We have several cards to play, and that is how we will approach the finale.”

There was an outright victory for Visma | Lease a Bike at the Vuelta a Burgos, where Matthew Brennanwon the sprint in Briviesca. The British rider was understandably delighted with the outcome. “It was important to be well positioned with the final corners approaching. The guys did an excellent job there. In the final 400 metres, I perhaps dropped back a little too far, which was a risk. I was lucky that another gap opened up and I was able to launch my sprint.”

“I trusted my legs, and it worked out well,” Brennan said. “I’m happy I was able to finish it off in the end, because the heat made it feel tough all day. It felt as though we were riding through a desert all day. But once again, it has been a great week with the guys from the team.”