Visma Lease a Bike explains away Vingegaard's time loss at the Tour de France: 'It isn’t the be-all and end-all'
CyclingMonday, 06 July 2026 at 12:19
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Follow us on GoogleVisma | Lease a Bike 1 - 1 UAE Emirates-XRG. The opening weekend of the Tour de France was evenly split between the teams of the two top favorites. Visma's sports director, Marc Reef, shared his observations with IDL Pro Cycling after two days of Tour de France racing on the Costa Brava.
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What made Sunday so difficult? “Mainly the temperature. On the first climb of the day, it was already around 40 degrees. You could tell that was affecting the entire peloton. As soon as the pace picked up a bit, a lot of riders fell behind. By the time we started the fourth lap, I think three-quarters of the peloton had already been dropped.”
"At that point, there were still about forty riders left in the lead group. They basically stayed together until the very end, but they only really picked up the pace as they approached the tops of the climbs. "I think most of them were afraid of burning through their reserves too early," Reef says, analyzing his competitors’ strategies.
The fact that Vingegaard had to let both Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro past him on the final climb up Montjuic didn’t come as a complete surprise to Reef. It was precisely because of how the race unfolded. “I think this is definitely a scenario that suits Jonas a little less this time around. But he’s still showing that he belongs among the best. And we’re just really happy about that.”
Read more below the video!
Vingegaard still in the yellow jersey in France
And so Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike will head into France with the yellow jersey—assuming the third stage goes ahead, that is. “We don’t know that yet. I think we’ll just have to wait and see. We’ve dealt with situations like this several times before, where we had to adjust our plans because of weather conditions—in this case, the wildfires. We’ve always managed to resolve those situations in the best possible way,” says Reef.
Even if the race goes ahead—whether or not it’s modified—it’s entirely possible that Vingegaard will still lose his yellow jersey on Monday. “Keeping the yellow jersey right now isn’t the be-all and end-all. As I said before, it’s a nice bonus. Of course, we’re proud to be wearing the yellow, but defending that jersey at all costs isn’t our main goal.”
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Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- - Grande etapa! Pogacar otra vez imbatible, pero respeto a Jonas por no rendirse. Vamos Tour!patriciaw19-07-2026
- - Pog is inevitable right now. Visma’s “road to recovery” is real, though. If they can keep this momentum, third week could be spicy.jeremya19-07-2026
- - Campenaerts did monster work, but why have both he and Armirail empty the tank so early if UAE was always going to reel it back? Feels like wasted watts. Mildly skeptical of the plan.tourdeforce919-07-2026
- - The article keeps saying “another 20 seconds,” but then mentions 38 and 44 at the finish. Can you clarify if that includes descent/time to the line? Slightly confusing.robert6519-07-2026
- - Fair play to Jonas though—pace was relentless and he didn’t crack. Pog just had that 2k to go kick again. Same movie, different stage.michael5419-07-2026
- - Reef’s honesty is refreshing tbh. Admitting they needed a man in that group of eight is bang on. If Matteo is there, Jonas gets a slingshot after Pog’s move. Missed opportunity.cyclechamp4519-07-2026
- - Wait, why does it matter that the final climb was 11 km at 7%? Does that kind of gradient favor Pogacar’s punch more than Vingegaard’s steady pacing?raceready719-07-2026
- - So they put three in the break, burned matches on Le Markstein, and still got the same time gap… feels like they’re chasing the wrong lever. Would’ve preferred Jorgenson saved for a late bridge or satellite.lindae19-07-2026
- - Super interesting tactical shift from Visma today. Armirail and Campenaerts drilling it to keep UAE honest was bold, but if the summit gaps are still 20s both times, that tells you Pog is just on another level right now.gearguru3319-07-2026
- - Urska factor is real—mental boost clearly flipped a switch after StageLove seeing that human side. Vamos Pogi! Bravo, super fuerte!andrewf18-07-2026
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