Visma | Lease a Bike responds after yet another winter of setbacks, departures and criticism

We are only in the second week of February, but Visma | Lease a Bike’s plans have already been adjusted several times. Van Aert broke his ankle during the cyclo-cross in Mol and has been racing the clock ever since toward Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The major spring Classics are not expected to be in danger, but after his crashes and setbacks in 2024 and 2025, it was still a blow.

Jonas Vingegaard, the team’s other key leader, has also been held up in his winter preparation. The Dane crashed during training and then fell ill. As a result, he pulled out of the UAE Tour, meaning he is again facing a quieter build-up toward the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. In the past two seasons, Vingegaard followed a similarly low-profile route as well—then out of necessity after crashes.

Add in the sudden retirement of Simon Yates, the departure of Vingegaard coach Tim Heemskerk, and the problems in Oman, and the list is already substantial. At the Tour of Oman, two riders were unable to start due to illness. Team leaders Bart Lemmen (crash) and Sepp Kuss (illness) both abandoned the race.

In mid-February, nothing is lost yet—but the fact that Van Aert and several teammates are currently in Sierra Nevada, where multiple teams have reportedly been stuck in hotels for weeks due to snow and rain, could become the next headache. Can the Killer Bees get their riders to the start line in top condition to challenge superstars Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel?

Vingegaard is now expected to build toward his Giro debut via Volta a Catalunya only, although sporting director Grischa Niermann suggested to cycling journalist Daniel Benson that another race could still be added, now that the UAE Tour has dropped off his schedule. “Jonas isn’t missing much training, but small things can have an impact,” Niermann said. “We’re not worried, and with this adjustment we’re creating more room for training.”

Even so, the German director will have had a moment of reflection when Vingegaard and Van Aert ran into problems again this winter. Visma | Lease a Bike have been in the spotlight regardless in recent weeks, following Yates’ retirement and criticism from riders such as Cian Uijtdebroeks and Attila Valter, who spoke about a lack of freedom within the team. They ultimately chose to leave.

Van Aert recently said on a podcast that those comments surprised him, because he feels there is plenty of room for discussion and rider input at Visma. Niermann also responded: “We have our own ideas and ways of working. We take an individual approach with every rider, and you can’t make it perfect for everyone. Some then decide to leave.”

“People are free to say what they want in the press, but some things get taken out of context or exaggerated,” the sporting director added. “We have a lot of riders who are very happy in the team and with how it functions. Simon’s retirement was surprising and unfortunate, but people should judge us on our results. We have had a lot of sick and crashed riders and that wasn’t the plan. But otherwise everything is going well. We’re sticking to our plan.”