Visma | Lease a Bike just on the wrong side of the coin in tough mountain stage in Switzerland

Wednesday, 18 June 2025 at 19:00

Follow IDL Pro Cycling on Google

Stay up to date with the best cycling news by making us a preferred source on Google.

Bart Lemmen had set himself up nicely for a good general classification result in the Tour of Switzerland on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike with a strong performance in the opening stage, but saw those hopes go up in smoke during the grueling fourth stage. The Dutch team is now shifting focus to stage wins.

Lemmen was part of the large 28-rider breakaway on day one and finished among the top three, putting him in a promising spot in the overall standings thanks to the time gap they gained. Fellow breakaway riders Romain Grégoire, Kévin Vauquelin, and Julian Alaphilippe were able to capitalize on that in the first mountain stage, while Lemmen just fell short on the Splügen Pass and couldn’t hold on.

After stage one, both Lemmen, who still had the Giro d’Italia in his legs, and sports director Maarten Wynants knew it would be a challenge to defend that GC position. “Bart is someone who knows himself very well and carries a certain level of maturity,” Wynants told us. “That comes from his life experience, of course. He knows his place in the peloton but also takes responsibility when needed.”

When asked for further explanation, Wynants praised the opportunities the 29-year-old former soldier knows how to create for himself. “You already saw that last year in the Tour Down Under, UAE Tour, and Tour of Norway, and now again. When a chance presents itself, and that doesn’t happen often on our team, Bart usually grabs it with both hands. With Bart, you can go to war,” Wynants concluded with a wink.

On the Splügen Pass, the third-placed rider in the general classification just missed making it over the top with the best climbers. Lemmen was on the wrong side of the split and ended up in a chasing group that eventually lost four minutes. As a result, he dropped to thirteenth place in the standings.

Read more below the photo!

Visma | Lease a Bike now shifts focus to stage wins in Switzerland

At Visma | Lease a Bike, the focus is now on winning stages, Wynants stated in the team’s race report. “The plan was to get in the early break. That wasn’t easy, but eventually a strong break formed with Tom Gloag. Unfortunately, they weren’t given much room by the peloton, even though Tom looked strong on the climbs. The other goal was to keep Bart high in the GC, but that didn’t work out,” the sports director said after the tough Alpine stage.

Thursday brings the queen stage. “Hopefully we can get in the breakaway again and go for the stage win from there. The GC is probably out of reach, but we’ll do everything we can to take a stage win in this race.”

Read also

Write a comment

Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief

Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.

Bram van der Ploeg | Lindkedin | Email

See author's posts

IDL-productions

Onley, Dickson, Thornley and now Mason; Scotland is punching way above its cycling weight

Cyclocross legend Lars van der Haar had a tough time after retiring from cyclocross: 'It was over pretty quickly'

Celia Gery won the European cyclocross championship while awaiting surgery: 'It'll be a new beginning'

Dutch team coach De Knegt annoyed by European Cyclocross Championships dispute: "A bit of a let down"

Glasgow set to shine as World Cup demand outstrips expectations and Mason eyes first home cyclocross race

Latest Cycling News

Michael Vanthourenhout's severe crash overshadows thrilling men's cyclocross race in merksplas

Lucinda Brand wins the Superprestige Merksplas cyclocross just three days after foot injury

Egan Bernal shows he's on the mend with six-pack photos and a Strava KOM above 3,000 meters

Valgren's 2026 revival led to a dream transfer and big INEOS ambitions: 'Not ready to be a luxury support rider yet'

Complications surround Wout van Aert's World Cyclocross Championship start

Popular Cycling News

Tadej Pogačar reveals his insane training data in new HBO film: 'I think that's what works best'

Pidcock's turbocharged vacation leads to struggles on the bike: 'No wonder people think cycling is hard'

Mads Pedersen weighs in on Lucinda Brand and Marie Schreiber's European Cyclocross Championship clash