The 2025 Tour de France will be here before you know it–but there may not be any Dutch riders on Visma – Lease a Bike there. One of the best teams in the world revealed its provisional roster for the race, and there was not a single rider from Holland.
The team will be led by Jonas Vingegaard and include Simon Yates (Great Britain), Matteo Jorgensen (U.S.), Sepp Kuss (U.S>), Victor Campenaerts (Belgium), Tiesj Benoot (Belgium), Christophe Laporte (France), and Wout van Aert (Belgium). Vingegaard will head the lineup for the Tour.
Michael Boogerd is not impressed
Former pro Michael Boogerd has weighed in on the selection, saying it’s not a good look.
“How can you ever call this team the flagship of Dutch cycling?” he said to Wielerflits. “No, I don’t think this is normal. And yes, I find it very unfortunate. It shows once again that Visma – Lease a Bike does not care about the level, the image, or the identity of Dutch cycling. They only want one thing: to be the best team in the world. And if that means there’s no room for a fellow countryman, so be it. It’s all about business now.”
Boogerd, who raced for an earlier iteration of Visma, when it was Rabobank, said that when he raced, having Dutch riders at the Tour was important.
“It’s clear that times have changed. Back then, that Dutch identity was crucial. The team wanted to help grow cycling in the Netherlands,” he said. “This is clearly no longer a priority. Just look at Visma’s development team. How many Dutch riders did they attract this winter?”
Ashlin Barry interview on his future with Visma – Lease a Bike
He also thinks Dutch fans will react poorly to the decision.
“Back with Rabobank, the entire Netherlands supported the team. I wonder how that will be now. The general public wants to see riders from their own country. It’s going to be very difficult for Dutch people to support Visma,” he said.
Jonas Vingegaard will be trying to win his third Tour with Visma – Lease A Bike, after finishing second to Tadej Pogacar in 2024. His season was derailed earlier in the year with a terrible crash at the Tour de Basque Country, and he had an extensive period of rehabilitation to recover.
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