"I'm still relatively early in my cycling career" - Bart Lemmen aims to become a cornerstone of Visma | Lease a Bike's plans in the future
Cycling
Bart Lemmen had never pictured his future as a professional cyclist back in his army days. But the 29-yea-old Dutchman made an impressive debut at the WorldTour level with Visma | Lease a Bike this year including a Tour de France debut in support of runner-up Jonas Vingegaard. Now he can eye to further improve in years to come with hopes of someday becoming the leader of the Dutch formation himself.
In an interview with Wieler Revue, Lemmen explains what made the biggest difference compared to previous years. Of course, it's the team, but it's more than that. "The most important thing was that I'm still relatively early in my cycling career. I'm getting better every year. Until last season, I had never ridden a full winter. If you do that, you don't get worse, of course."
"I don't know exactly how much I've improved in terms of turning point. I think it's not too bad, but what has improved the most is my level after five hours of racing. I used to be a rider who could do a great twenty-minute test or get a KOM on Strava, but that doesn't mean you're a good WorldTour rider."
On that note, Lemmen admits he could still improve. But it needs to be done appropriately. "I'm not really a 'training animal' yet," he says, laughing. "Although it doesn't automatically mean that I'll get better if I work five extra hours. When I was still working in the air force, I said that too, but it's not a rule that I'll ride faster."
Still, Lemmen sees plenty of room for improvement. "What should make me stronger: an altitude training camp. I haven't been at altitude in 2024 and such a training camp works for almost everyone. In 2023, I've been at altitude once on my own, but that's different than in a team. I was busy with other things, like cooking, shopping or getting my equipment in order. I'm looking forward to going up high with the whole team."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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