"It favors Evenepoel" - Visma boss on who 2027 Tour de France route benefits and why Matthew Brennan might be selected
Cycling
The 2027 Tour de France route has been revealed this morning in Paris. Richard Plugge, manager of Team Visma | Lease a Bike, admitted that Jonas Vingegaard is not the most favoured rider by the TT-heavy route; and that Briton Matthew Brennan will be considered for the Grand Depart.
"In any case, it’s really cool that we’re starting in England. There are also two long time trials, which we’ll need to look at closely," Plugge said in words to Wielerflits shortly after the announcement of the full route - for the first time in years.
"Beyond that, I don’t think there are many uphill finishes—or many mountain stages that are truly challenging. If I’ve read it correctly, the twentieth stage is a sprint stage, too. That means everything will likely be decided by Friday (stage 19, ed.)."
Plugge's main impression from the route, consisting of six high mountain stages, was that it is not as well adapted to the pure climbers - such as Vingegaard - as much as in previous years.
"I don’t think it’s necessarily designed for the top-tier climbers, but we still need to analyze it properly."
Richard Plugge shared his thoughts on the 2027 Tour de France
A Tour for the sprinters?
Plugge was keen on assuring that decisions would be made later on, pushing back on potential decisions or plans that would've already been made behind the scenes.
"Well, we’ll see. We’re going to take a good look at it with Marc Reef, Mathieu (Heijboer, ed.), Patrick (Broe, ed.), and Nathan (Van Hooydonck, ed.). We’ll determine the best path forward—who to bring and who not to. Either way, it’s something we’ll have to tackle as a team."
Asked about Matthew Brennan, Great Britain's strongest sprinter at the moment in the peloton, Plugge admitted that the team could aim for the yellow jersey with him next summer.
"Matthew really made a strong statement there (at the Vuelta a España, ed.). He’s clearly become one of the biggest stars in cycling, and this is the biggest race of all—so we’ll definitely consider him."
Read also
Remco Evenepoel the one who benefits
Ultimately however, specially as Victor Campenaerts already confirmed, the Tour de France is the ultimate priority for Jonas Vingegaard next year and a race he will look to win once again. But does the route, featuring two flat time trials with over 30 kilometers, help the Dane's chances?
"It favors Evenepoel," Plugge answers. "Anyway, fortunately there are still plenty of mountain stages". The team boss looks to focus on the more difficult stages, where historically the Dane was best able to make the difference.
"It won’t be easy in Great Britain, either. We’ll have to see how we’re going to approach it. As for whether this Tour is better suited to Tadej than to Jonas? We’ll need to analyze that carefully first."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- I think he's close. For one thing - and this won't be a well-received take - I won't be surprised if Pog skips RVV this year. He has bigger goals, most of which are later in the season. The big thing in the spring is PR, and there is case for him come into that race fresh and maybe with a couple of kg of additional weight. But even if Pog does do RVV, Wout can win. As he is sometimes prone, he blew himself up too early last year trying to keep up with Pog on Oude de Kwaremont. Had he been just a bit more patient he might well have ended up chasing with either Remco or MVDP. Still not easy to catch Pog, and no guarantee he'd beat the other two even if they did. But the point remains: it's there if things go just right.MidnightRider22-10-2026
- Tadej will just spend more time on his TT bike and neutralize everyone on these stages.mij22-10-2026
- It would be a shame to lose one of the coolest names in the pro peloton...bobo22-10-2026
- Pog can be beat, so, yeh 👍
leedorney22-10-2026 - absolutely iconic face/effortwrsty22-10-2026
- EF makes some pretty good signings. Tao and Sosa could be decent replacements for Carapazmij22-10-2026
- gravel is such a great discipline. I hope it gets bigger from a media standpoint. looking at old Tour de France stages, they were basically gravel before it was called gravelmij22-10-2026
- This is good for the sport ? Spreading of talent around the peloton.
Davide22-10-2026 - Im all in with you Wally. Good Luck.Davide22-10-2026
- No it’s not, what utter drivel. How do you know he wasn’t presented the option to stay with a renegotiated contract. I’m sure if he’d not gotten a better deal elsewhere he would even have considered accepting. It’s not like they would have told him to ride for free like Cavendish had to.Jumpyjohn21-10-2026
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