Is Visma leading the way for a safer peloton? Fighting for position on sprint stages "is no longer the approach we want"

Team Visma | Lease a Bike has made the decision to not fight for positioning during the sprint stages at the Giro d'Italia. The Dutch team believes the risks of crashing outweigh those of being caught in a split, and are deciding to race with a tactic that they have experimented earlier in the season with Jonas Vingegaard.

"We already discussed this in the winter. We spent a lot of energy trying to avoid the hectic pace and the danger, but that is no longer the approach we want," team DS Marc Reef said in an interview on The Cycling Podcast.

In recent years, fighting for positioning has become more and more a point of focus for all top teams, with their own logistics organized - such as team staff driving through entire stages to point out pinch points and possible dangerous locations.

In order to keep their GC leaders as far ahead as possible, on sprint stages it is now fully common to have the head of the peloton swarmed by climbers and their leadouts, until the 3 kilometer to go sign - where a crash does not lead to a time loss.

However, this increases the number of riders, the overall speed and the risks being taken to be in position. The start of this Giro captured a clear image of these tense fights for positioning, with two mass crashes on the opening days of the race.

However on both stages 1 and 3, where bunch sprints were expected, there was a distinct yellow colour at the back of the peloton. Jonas Vingegaard, surrounded by his Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammates. That is a purposeful decision.

"We discussed this in the winter, also with Jonas and the other riders," Reed explains. At Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya, they already experimented with the new approach, as is now being done at the Giro. "What struck us was that other general classification teams also dropped back, leaving only the sprinter teams at the front."

So far the strategy has not led to any unnecessary time losses. Visma hope that, even if crashes or splits do occur, that they are ready to close gaps by having their whole team together. Ultimately, the goal is to avoid the head of the peloton and the dangers that come from it.

"But if you look at all the Giro stages, this tactic can work well. We looked at the sprint stages in Grand Tours of recent years. Once or twice a general classification rider lost time. But back then, they weren't ready to rectify anything".

Whilst on stage 2 it was leading up to a climb, not a bunch sprint, it was possible to see how even when well positioned, a crash can heavily affect the team in question. UAE Team Emirates - XRG were one of the teams leading the peloton during a descent when five of their riders crashed. Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler were forced to abandon; whilst two Visma riders were also involved in the crash.

"It is either spending a lot of energy or sitting safely at the back. We believe that if the whole team is there, something can be rectified should something happen. In the first stage, for example, there wasn't a single turn in the finale. Furthermore, it helps with the overall safety of the sport."

"The first experience in Paris-Nice was good, the riders were positive. We might have a situation where it will be our undoing, but in other situations it helps us. It ensures that we save a lot of physical and mental energy," Reef concluded.