Ex-pro questions Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s strategy: “At some point you have to attack”

Former professional cyclist Lars van den Berg has raised sharp questions over Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s strategy at the recent Tour of Slovakia. The race was dominated by Paul Magnier, who claimed the first four stages, yet the spotlight fell on Visma’s surprising failure to convert their strength on the decisive queen stage into victory.

Speaking with Ramon Sinkeldam on Beyond The Kom, Van den Berg dissected what he saw as missteps. “It was a stage of only 124 kilometers: a junior distance,” he began. “At the beginning, there were three climbs of three kilometers each at nine percent gradient. They did a loop. After those three climbs, Visma was in a group of twenty riders, with six riders at the front. Only one rider had been dropped.”

The Dutchman explained that after the initial climbs, the road flattened. “Then it was flat forty kilometers, after which there was a 6.5-kilometer climb at 5.5 percent,” he said. “What does Visma do? They ride with three riders at the front to the last climb and then start attacking. Lemmen then slides away with Double, gets dropped in the final kilometer, and Visma ultimately doesn't win.”

Van den Berg, who was forced to retire earlier this year at age 27 due to heart problems, knows firsthand how harsh the sport can be. At the time, he reflected, “The news came as a huge shock. This winter, I finally felt like I was rediscovering my form after a long and challenging road back. But after extensive monitoring, my cardiologists have determined that the risks are simply too great. And just like that, my career as a pro cyclist has come to an abrupt and heartbreaking end.”

His analysis of Visma’s tactics in Slovakia carried that same directness. “It's much better to capitalize on that numerical advantage. Trying to break away in small groups on that flat surface. You know: Double can't be there. At some point, you just have to attack.”

Visma have been subject to significant criticism throughout 2025 for some of their stage race tactics. That being said, they won 2/3 of the year’s grand tours, with Simon Yates victorious at the Giro d’Italia, and Jonas Vingegaard winning the Vuelta a Espana.

For Van den Berg, the logic seemed obvious. “Then you have to make sure that Lemmen, Uijtdebroeks, or Gloa, those are their three best climbers, break away without Double. Isn't it strange? Uijtdebroeks was actually the chosen favorite,” he pointed out. Sinkeldam pushed back, suggesting it was natural for Visma to trust their top man, asking, “Then it's not so strange that they have confidence in him, is it?”

Yet Van den Berg stuck to his argument. “It's quite strange then that you ride away with a group without Uijtdebroeks in the end. It was his first race after his injury. So it was already quite impressive that he was in such good form. If you haven't raced for a long time, you can't count on or rely on things turning out well.”

Visma ultimately filled the top five with three riders, second, third, and fifth, but Van den Berg still viewed it as a missed opportunity. “In the end, they finished second, third, and fifth. I just find that crazy. That you don't think: let's try to break away in the kilometers before the climb with a group without Double. He was actually the only guy you knew could potentially be stronger.”

Even the earlier climbing phase left him with questions. “Uijtdebroeks couldn't drop Double on those three steep climbs. He wanted to do that at all costs. After that, there were still 45 kilometers of flat terrain, so where are you going to ride after that? It was certainly special,” Van den Berg concluded.