"It has never happened that a team wins Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico at the same time" - Team Visma | Lease a Bike continue to make cycling history
Cycling
After their history-making season in 2023 that saw Team Visma | Lease a Bike complete the Grand Tour hat-trick, Richard Plugge's team has continued to make history in 2024.
"I hope the winning doesn't stop," laughs a beaming Plugge in conversation with Sporza after seeing Matteo Jorgenson and Jonas Vingegaard make it another successful week for the team with their respective wins at Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. "It has never happened that a team wins Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico at the same time. But we want to write sports history. We are also very proud of the way in which we do this, with each other and with different riders."
Whilst Vingegaard's victory was somewhat expected, the performance of new signing Jorgenson was more of a revelation. "I am very proud of him," says Plugge. "He is just new to the team and he was looking for the environment that we can offer him. He is such a cool guy. He has a great personality. He fits us perfectly, he shows that with the way he rides."
Is the American now poised to lead Team Visma | Lease a Bike in a Grand Tour? "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Plugge assesses. "He did a very smart job here with that attack at the right time three days ago. There he already took an advantage over the main competitors, in this case: Remco Evenepoel. He senses that instinctively. And he was among the strongest riders, if not the strongest."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
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- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
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Still thinking about 🇺🇸Matteo Jorgenson winning yellow! #ParisNice 😄 @MatteoJorg
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