'We're not going to be winning as much as we did last year' - Visma-Lease a Bike prepare for post-Primož Roglič world
Dutch squad are ready to be the chased rather than the chaser, stalwart Robert Gesink says
![Visma-Lease A Bike](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xrJC2RTT5muURy4LiJeexR-415-80.jpg)
A spectre is haunting Visma-Lease a Bike - the spectre of Primož Roglič.
The Dutch team, formerly Jumbo-Visma, have undergone more than a name change this winter, thanks to the departure of their former star rider, the three-time Vuelta a España victor and reigning Giro d'Italia champion, Roglič.
The Slovenian won 55 WorldTour races for the Dutch outfit over his eight seasons with the squad, with those Grand Tour wins the highlight, but countless others. Arguably, the 34-year-old has been the best stage racer of his generation, picking up wins at all sorts of week-long events, from Tirreno-Adriatico to Itzulia Basque Country. His loss, as a result of his off-season move to Bora-Hansgrohe, will be felt keenly.
Visma-Lease a Bike are not pretending to be bullish about the hole that Roglič will leave - far from it, in fact. The team which won all three Grand Tours in 2023 will be weaker this year, and they know it. Everyone knows it.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly at in Australia, Visma stalwart Robert Gesink, in his 18th and final season with the squad, explained that it's "definitely going to be a loss".
"We're totally aware that now Primož has gone that we're not going to be winning as much as we did last year, because Primož was just insane," the 37-year-old said. "Every race he started he basically won, so that's going to definitely be a loss in terms of the amount of victories we will get...
"Primož, and guys like that, I mean, there's only a few of them in the world. So it's not as easy as copying that. With Primož, you were sure that you could go to a race and have a guy for the victory. With other guys you might need a few years to get to that point."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The Dutchman has been through Visma in all its iterations, from the late days of Rabobank, through its re-emergence as LottoNL-Jumbo, to all-conquering Jumbo-Visma, and now Visma-Lease a Bike.
While it did not technically end 2023 as the best team, according to the UCI - that honour went to UAE Team Emirates - it felt like the best team, with all three Grand Tours in the bag. It will be a hard act to follow, one which has proved difficult for other teams. Ineos Grenadiers, for example, once the top team in the world, are now looking to reinvigorate themselves, rather than seeing off all.
That's something Visma is trying not to repeat as it sets a new course as a team to be beaten, rather than trying to beat others. There's only one place at the top of the slippery pole of cycling.
"The team is trying to try to learn from that," Gesink said. "From their mistakes perhaps, or do better. The idea of the team has changed from we are chasing the first to now to being chased.
"With bigger budgets coming in that's not always easy, in the future either. But for now, I think we have a really strong group of riders and also some young guys with great potential to work with."
Those bigger budgets include Bora-Hansgrohe, thanks to their impending takeover by Red Bull; one can only speculate at present as to how that will affect the wider WorldTour ecosystem.
Visma-Lease a Bike remain at the top, with Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss and Wout van Aert yet to unleash their power this season. With Cian Uijtdebroeks and Johannes Staune-Mittet coming through, they should be more than fine, but Roglič will certainly leave a hole, and his spectre will continue to worry the Dutch team.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
Unbound Gravel lottery opens two months early, ensuring riders are 'more prepared than ever'
Registration for the 2025 Unbound Gravel will open on Friday, November 1, 2024, and close two weeks later, on November 15. Lottery winners will be announced on November 21, 2024.
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Star triathlete Taylor Knibb to take on world's fastest cyclists in the Olympic time trial
Colorado-based 26-year-old Taylor Knibb will be representing Team USA in both the individual time trial and triathlon at the Paris Olympics.
By Kristin Jenny Published
-
Primož Roglič reveals he suffered back fracture in Tour de France crash
Slovenian abandoned race after being caught up in crash on stage 12, Vuelta a España participation now in doubt
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Did Visma-Lease a Bike's Tour de France tactics fail on stage 17? 'Maybe they could try to attack for Jonas'
Three riders up the road, but the Dutch team didn't win the stage, and their leader Jonas Vingegaard ceded time
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
'It's terrible': The curse of Primož Roglič strikes again at the Tour de France
The Slovenian's hopes of winning yellow appear over, yet again
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
'Sometimes you need balls to race': Remco Evenepoel annoyed by Jonas Vingegaard's Tour de France tactics
"Maybe Jonas didn’t have them today," Evenepoel calls for more aggressive riding from two-time champion after enthralling stage on the gravel around Troyes
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert to continue to 'chase opportunities' at Tour de France, provided Jonas Vingegaard is safe
'We want Wout to win a stage, but we have to look at it day by day', says Visma-Lease a Bike DS Frans Maassen
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
How one phone call from Wout van Aert led to the Belgian riding the Tour de France
Visma-Lease a Bike sporting director Merijn Zeeman reveals Van Aert said he wanted "to do something special"
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert to ride Tour de France for Visma-Lease a Bike
The pair will lineup in Florence next Saturday after recovering from their respective injuries
By Adam Becket Published
-
Have Visma-Lease a Bike unofficially announced their Tour de France team with Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert?
The reigning two-time champion has been part of team’s final altitude training camp in Tignes before Florence Grand Départ
By Tom Thewlis Published