Visma surprised the Tour de France peloton with a tactical masterstroke on Stage 1, not for the 1st time
CyclingSunday, 05 July 2026 at 00:40
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Follow us on GoogleSeven years after the Brussels, Visma | Lease a Bike won another team time trial at the Tour de France. It was a stage that not only demanded blood (Edoardo Affini), sweat (in the Spanish heat), and tears (from both Mathieu Heijboer and Jonas Vingegaard) from the team, but also required them to pull off yet another tactical masterstroke. The key players spoke IDL Pro Cycling after the stage.
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In the Giro d'Italia, Vingegaard also managed to surprise the peloton during Stage 1. In the sprinter’s stage finishing in Burgas. The yellow-and-black team suddenly found itself at the back of the peloton, instead of at the front, where it normally battles for position. The reason? This way, they kept their team leader safe and away from what would become race-defining crashed. A few days later, the other general classification contenders happily followed suit.
Fast forward from Burgas to Barcelona—a completely different world in terms of aesthetics. In the Tour de France opener, virtually all teams rode in a so-called eight-man chain, with everyone—for a short or long stretch—taking turns at the front. Not Visma | Lease a Bike, which formed only a four-man “chain” in the opening phase.
"We did a lot of calculations on this using models, and Jamie Lowden, who also put a lot of work into it. And so we went over it together. The computer models also indicated that it would go very well, but we discussed that with the riders as well. And the riders themselves also provided input and made a few adjustments. So it really is, yes, as I’ve been saying, a team effort,” explains Mathieu Heijboer.
4.5 riders covered the first few kilometers of the Tour de France team time trial
The first roughly 14 kilometers can be credited to Edoardo Affini, Per Strand Hagenes, Bruno Armirail, and Victor Campenaerts. “Those were deliberate choices,” Reef explains. “Above all, we wanted our big, powerful guys to make the difference on the flat sections. As soon as the road started climbing, it was time for other riders, like Matteo Jorgenson, to step up. That worked out very well.”
"We looked at the riders’ strengths and decided not to have our climbers take the lead at all in the last or the first fifteen kilometers,” Heijboer adds. “So we actually handled it with five riders all the way to the base of the climb and then kept the climbers fresh so they could take the lead.'
"Matteo had to stay on board to make the descent and then, if Davide was there, he could just launch. And he did. It was beautiful, but the key for him really lay in the fact that he had those five men up front covering the flat section,” says Heijboer.
"And there were actually four of them. We also had Jorgenson on our tail after the Sagrada Familia. He didn’t get back to the front either, so he could recharge for that final climb. He really had to take the descent, because with three of us weighing sixty kilos, we go fast enough downhill. So yes, it worked out perfectly. "The guys believed in it. We believe in it. It was a risky strategy, but it worked," concludes a very proud Heijboer.
Jorgenson lost 2.30 minutes
The fact that Jorgenson lost 2.30 minutes as a result was considered a necessary sacrifice. “We believed that this strategy would bring us closest to victory, and that was the most important thing. We felt that it would allow us to conserve some energy for Jonas and Sepp Kuss. That gave us the feeling that we were on the right track,” said Reef.
Vingegaard summed it up most aptly afterward. “Actually, I was already a big believer in this tactic before the stage. But I have to say: when we were facing a strong headwind, it sometimes felt like we were riding almost at ease. For the first two kilometers, I was still thinking, ‘I think we need to go faster!’ But when they said over the radio that we were posting the fastest split times, I knew we were on the right track,” said the Dane.
"Looking at the wattages now, it was still really tough even on the road. But when we have five of those big, strong guys with us, they can handle those flat sections so much better. We had to use them this way on the flats, because Sepp, Davide, and I can’t really do much there anyway, except hold them back if we were to take the lead.’
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Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey.
Reef: 'Everyone was able to execute the chosen strategy perfectly'
So that solid approach also led to a strong result on Montjuic. “I think, first and foremost, we’re just really happy that we won. Everyone was able to execute the chosen strategy perfectly. It’s fantastic that we were able to secure the win that way. Of course, it’s also great that we’re immediately gaining time on all our competitors, and especially on Pogacar. But above all, it’s really good that we’re showing we’re a strong team, that we’re in good form, and that we’re ready for this Tour de France,” said Reef.
But first, it’s time to celebrate on Saturday night. “Actually, ever since we won the team time trial in 2019, we’ve put an enormous amount of work into this—especially Mathieu. He’s put in a lot of hours, time, and energy into this. That goes for our entire team, by the way, including everyone behind the scenes.”
"Of course, that builds up over the course of the months, and especially during the final days and hours before the start. That’s when you hope that everything you’ve put so much energy into will come together at just the right moment. It’s fantastic that it’s working out now. That’s what sports are all about; they bring out all kinds of emotions,” Reef concludes.
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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
- - Qué locura lo del platoRemco está muy fuerte, pero ojo con Pogačar guardando fuerzas. Esto se va a poner buenísimo.jeremya05-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “Vingegaard boost” narrative after stageHe’s barely raced post-injury and suddenly we’re talking momentum from an opening TTT? Feels a tad premature, lads. Let’s see him on a proper climb before crowning anything.patriciaw05-07-2026
- - Wiggins’ take on Pogacar sandbagging the jersey early makes total sense. Why take yellow on day one and burn your squad on wind and protocol when you can sit second or third and keep UAE fresh? Classic GC brains.velodromevirtuoso105-07-2026
- - I’m a bit confused about the 68-tooth chainring bit — is that actually practical on a technical TTT course? Wouldn’t cadence bog down in corners or is he just staying aero and pushing monster torque with a 10t?tourdeforce905-07-2026
- - Loved the insight on Remco’s TTT pulls. Starting the train, never missing a turn, then riding Lipowitz off the wheel later — that’s leader energy. RB–Bora might have a headache on their hands if “let the road decide” keeps pointing to Remco.andrewf05-07-2026
- - Pedersen y Philipsen van a devorar los sprints, pero este verde de Bernal es un premio al trabajo del equipo. Grande INEOS hoy.bikebuffj04-07-2026
- - Small correction: you wrote “worn (won) yellow” — he’s worn yellow after winning the Tour in 2019, right? Either way, neat bit of history seeing him tick another jersey, even briefly. Curious if they’ll try to defend it into stage 2 or leave it to the sprinters.davidm04-07-2026
- - Gutted for Ganna after that Vauquelin puncture took the edge off their run. Still, Egan first across the split was smart heads-up riding. Visma clinical as ever, Vingegaard straight into jaune… ominous.julien04-07-2026
- - Wait, how does he get green from a time trial? Thought green was only for sprinters at the finish. Do intermediate checkpoints always give the same points as road stages?robert6504-07-2026
- - Love seeing Bernal in green, even if it’s a cameo. That Barcelona TTT was wild, proper technical. Credit to INEOS for drilling it early.pedalpowe2904-07-2026
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