Visma's crack climbing squad are ready to take it to UEA on the Tourmalet: 'Our guys will be there'
CyclingWednesday, 08 July 2026 at 21:37
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Follow us on GoogleJonas Vingegaard was exceptionally well supported during the first few days of the Tour de France, but the Danish team leader didn’t yet have a top-tier domestique to help him make a difference during those early stages. So it remains to be seen exactly how his climbers are performing right now. Marc Reef provided some insight ahead of Stage 6 over the Col du Tourmalet.
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Visma | Lease a Bike made a big impression as a team in the first stage, when they clinched the stage victory and the yellow jersey for Vingegaard in a team time trial around Barcelona. The top riders set the pace on the flat, before the team’s three climbers finished the job.
In addition to Vingegaard, we’re counting Sepp Kuss and David Piganzoli among the lightweights, who didn’t have to take a turn on the flat section of Stage 1. Matteo Jorgenson was the shadow team leader last year, but was already deployed as one of the team’s key riders in the team time trial.
The 27-year-old American had already lost a good 19 minutes over the first five stages and never gave the impression that he was aiming for the GC. In the grueling Stages 2 and 3, he finished at a respectable distance and was not the last rider behind Vingegaard.
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Matteo Jorgenson
Kuss and Piganzoli took turns leading the pack for Vingegaard
Kuss and Piganzoli had both already served as the last man for the team leader once. Piganzoli impressed in the team time trial by launching Vingegaard uphill. The 24-year-old Italian took it easier in Stage 2 and wasn’t among the leaders when UAE Emirates-XRG dominated.
Kuss also didn’t stay in the race until the very end of Isaac del Toro’s stage victory, but in Stage 3, the 31-year-old climber made an excellent breakaway toward the uphill finish in Les Angles. On roads he knew well, Kuss had another one of his typical standout days.
Since Stages 4 and 5 were easy rides for the general classification contenders, we can say that Vingegaard’s three climbing domestiques all did their part. But it wasn’t quite on the level of Brandon McNulty, who, on Day 2, led the pack for two laps around Barcelona on behalf of UAE.
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Davide Piganzoli
Visma | Lease a Bike knows Vingegaard's support will be there
Visma | Lease a Bike haven’t been thrown off by the strength of the UAE team on the one hand and the rotation of roles within their own team on the other. “So far, we’ve only had short, explosive climbs. Some riders handled them better than others,” Reef observed.
In an interview with IDL Pro Cycling, the Dutchman said that the heat played a role, but he had already indicated the day before that Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike simply weren’t equipped to handle a very explosive Pogacar and Del Toro. However, that stretch of the course is already behind them.
And so Reef is confident that Vingegaard will receive the right support in Stage 6, which features the Col d'Aspin, the Tourmalet, and an uphill finish in Gavarnie-Gèdre. “On the longer climbs, our guys will be there; we have confidence in the three support riders around Jonas.”
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Sepp Kuss
Vingegaard is in top form ahead of the Tourmalet
Vingegaard’s weight was also a topic of discussion before the start of Stage 5. The Dane seems to be in top form, and Reef noted that this is exactly what’s needed. “It’s important these days—you see it everywhere around you. At the team presentation for the Tour de France, you could see that all the general classification contenders were in top form.”
"Everyone is focusing on the details, and Jonas feels good about where he stands right now. He's ready," Reef warned. "It's the first mountain stage of this Tour de France, and we knew it would come soon. We're looking forward to it."
"We didn't scout the route with Jonas because he was riding the Giro d’Italia and had just been at training camp. So there wasn't enough time, but we know the Tourmalet from past races—we've climbed it many times before."
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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
- - 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
- - Two seconds on a 200m kick says it all. Vingegaard looked glued, but not enough punch yet. Heat management + gels every 30 minutes clearly dialed.andrewf06-07-2026
- - What a statement from Pog! Del Toro’s launch was textbook. You could see UAE-XRG had zero interest in gifting the break any hope today.jennifer1906-07-2026
- - ¿Habrá abanicos con ese viento noroeste? Si se parte el pelotón en los llanos antes de Quillan, adiós a muchos sprinters.patriciaw06-07-2026
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