Thereโs little illusion about the task ahead, but no sign of surrender either at Team Visma | Lease a Bike. As the Tour de France enters its final phase, Jonas Vingegaard trails Tadej Pogaฤar by more than four minutes after two consecutive time losses on stages 12 and 13. Yet from inside the team, the message is clear: the race isnโt over, and theyโre not just racing for second.
After Pogaฤar put time into Vingegaard in the final kilometre of Pla dโAdet, and again during the Tarbes time trial, it was easy to read the result sheet and conclude the GC is settled. But Sepp Kuss pushed back against that thinking.
โYou have to be positive, otherwise we wouldnโt even start the Tour after the Dauphinรฉ, you know?โ said Kuss, referring to Vingegaardโs late start to the season and minimal preparation. โYou can never be surprised anymore,โ he added of Pogaฤarโs dominance.
The mood within the team is not one of despair. They remain pragmatic, knowing that time is slipping away, but they also point to the unpredictable nature of the Tour. Crashes, bad legs, splits in the bunch – these things can happen, and often do in the third week.
โItโs definitely a big deficit, and on paper you could say itโs over, but itโs bike racing. Anything can happen,โ said Kuss. โWe still have the hardest stages ahead of us.โ
The approach now appears twofold: ride smart, stay aggressive, and seize any opportunity that arises. Whether that means chasing the yellow jersey or simply keeping Vingegaard on the podium remains open, but the squadโs commitment hasnโt changed.
Kuss explained their aggressive tactics on stage 12, when the team pushed hard on the Col du Soulor in an attempt to isolate Pogaฤar early.
โIf we were all on a super good day, I think we could have done some damage there, but we had to pivot the strategy a bit,โ he said. โWe make our moves when itโs an equal effort for everybody. Itโs not like weโre pulling the bunch for 200 kilometres.โ
That effort on stage 12 didnโt have the intended effect. UAE Team Emirates had numbers and Pogaฤar simply rode away in the final metres. But within the Visma camp, the decision-making remains unapologetic.
Matteo Jorgenson echoed that view. โWeโre doing our best in the race, and Iโm really proud of how weโve raced so far. I donโt think we should be disappointed,โ said the American. โThereโs nothing you can do if you give your best and keep fighting every day.โ
Jorgenson himself bounced back on stage 13. After an off-day in the Pyrenees where he admitted he โgave upโ early on the climbs, he finished sixth in the time trial, posting one of his strongest rides of the race.
โI was already really fighting full on the first climb,โ he said of stage 12. โSo I wanted to come around and prove to myself again that I had still good legs.โ
He described the time trial as a necessary mental reset. โIt was a good test. I was at least back to a level that I can be proud of today.โ
Whether Jorgensonโs form uptick will translate into meaningful support for Vingegaard in the Alpine stages remains to be seen. But in a race that has tilted heavily toward Pogaฤar, every small gain could count. Team Visma | Lease a Bike arenโt counting on a miracle – but theyโre still in the fight.
