Visma | Lease a Bike rules out Stage 9 attack as Vingegaard safety tactic continues
CyclingSunday, 12 July 2026 at 12:42
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Follow us on GoogleAnyone looking for riders to select in their Tour pool for Stage 9 of the Tour de France should probably look beyond Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dutch team safely negotiated sprint stages 7 and 8 and, despite Jonas Vingegaard losing considerable time on Stage 6, has no ambitions for Sunday’s stage. Sports director Marc Reef explained the team’s plans to IDL Pro Cycling.
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Stage 9 takes the peloton from Malemort to Ussel on Sunday. Although the route has been shortened by 30 kilometres because of the red heat alert, all the main obstacles remain. Visma | Lease a Bike will not be targeting the stage victory. “That is completely out of the question. We still have enormous confidence in Jonas, and that remains our primary focus.”
Tour de France debutant Per Strand Hagenes and a rider such as Victor Campenaerts will therefore be expected to conserve their energy rather than join the breakaway. Reef believes Hagenes and fellow Tour debutant Davide Piganzoli are already gaining plenty from their first experience of the race. “They were both very happy to be selected. They were nervous when they stood at the start, but they are handling their roles well at the moment.”
The two young riders impressed during the team time trial on the opening day. In the stages that followed, Hagenes worked on the flatter terrain, while Piganzoli supported the team in the mountains. “Per needs to continue along this path. He was there at the right moments. We expect to see a little more from Davide during the remainder of the Tour de France.”
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Per Strand Hagenes is not allowed to join the breakaway in Stage 9 of the Tour de France
Visma | Lease a Bike stayed at the back during the sprint stages
We may therefore have to wait until the second week before seeing the yellow-and-black jerseys prominently positioned at the front of the race again. During sprint stages 5, 7 and 8, the entire Visma | Lease a Bike team deliberately rode near the back of the peloton. After Stage 8, Reef once again explained the thinking behind that decision. “We have seen that we always use a lot of energy because we are afraid something might happen,” he began.
“We looked back at crashes in which general-classification riders actually lost time. Over the past seven or eight years, that appears to have happened only once. When you compare that with the energy required to stay at the front and consider the riders we have available, we believe you have a better overview from the back of the peloton.”
“Crashes often happen at the front or in the middle of the peloton. When you are together at the back, you always have teammates available to bring you back if a crash happens ahead of you. You accept the risk that a gap could open, but you usually still have enough time to return, as we saw on Stage 5. That is especially true now that the five-kilometre rule and the three-second rule are being used in stage finales.”
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Jonas Vingegaard
Visma | Lease a Bike hopes tactic can make the peloton safer
Visma | Lease a Bike first began using the tactic in March. “We started doing it at Paris-Nice and continued in Catalonia and at the Giro,” Reef explained. “Richard Plugge, our CEO, has discussed it with other team managers, while the riders have also spoken about it among themselves. It improves safety in the peloton. When we do it with someone such as Jonas, more teams are likely to follow.”
“That is beginning to happen now. Tadej Pogačar has been riding at the back, and we regularly saw Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe doing it during the Giro d’Italia as well,” continued the Visma | Lease a Bike sports director. During this Tour de France, the team allows Vingegaard to make the final decision. “When the stress increases, Jonas makes the call and we move to the back together. The precise moment varies each time. It gives us far more than it costs us.”
“The riders are very happy with it, although the first time we tried it at Paris-Nice was a little nerve-racking for them,” the Dutchman added with a laugh. Reef believes further improvements are still possible. “Sometimes the rule applies from three, four or five kilometres from the finish, but then there might be a roundabout at 3.1 or 5.1 kilometres to go.”
“Sometimes you need to move the boundary further away from the finish, although introducing a five-kilometre rule is already a very positive step. The next step would be to decide where the boundary should be based on the specific course.”
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'.
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Latest Comments
- No teammates on the Tourmalet. Too fast up the Tourmalet.
merganzer10-07-2026 - Reef is whistling past the graveyard by denying what was plain to see: Tadej crushed Jonas, beating him in the ascent and, even more decisively on the descent, where most of the gap was created. In the world of reality, rather than the fantsay that Reef related, Jonas will not become a better descender between now and Paris, and Tadej won't get less adept at the skill. Moreover, it wasn't only about the mano y mono, between the two Tour leaders, but the unraveling of Visma, and the dominance of UAE, especially IDT. Barring injury or some other anomalous occurrence, we'll look back at Tadej's win on stage six as the day he won the 2026 TDF.rjb10-07-2026
- Remco continues alternating between Dr. Jekyl and, as he did today post-race, Mr. Hyde, lashing out as others for not racing according to his preferences. This isn't the first time he's complained about opponents' tactics, but it's the first time I've heard him do it to a teammate, and that lack of discretion and team loyalty may come back to haunt him. I though he'd outgrown these childish pouts; obviously, I was mistaken.rjb10-07-2026
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
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