Johan Bruyneel on what he thinks is Visma's problem: "They focus on so many small details that they lose the essence of cycling"
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike, like last year, are struggling at the spring classics. With Christophe Laporte out of action, Olav Kooij now injured, and Wout van Aert struggling with positioning the team is not getting the results it hopes for into the monuments. Johan Bruyneel expressed his opinion on the matter.
"Something is wrong at Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Things go wrong too often in the spring classics for us to draw that conclusion. They do well in other races, but in the classics it doesn't come out," he said in The Move podcast. "I don't know what it is. Personally, I think Wout van Aert should have been at the start of Gent-Wevelgem."
The team has notably struggled with positioning, besides the notable issues with injuries and illnesses which has been once again hindering it's performances. However, the Belgian pundit believes that there is a clear problem with the Dutch team's plan which sees things go wrong rather quick.
"They have a plan that they don't deviate from under any circumstances. They are unable to adapt to the circumstances. I see that with more teams," he argues.
"At Visma, they are very rigid and the focus is on the plan and the small things. The extremely short 150 cranks are an example of that (he refers to Jonas Vingegaard, ed.). They focus on so many small details that they lose the essence of cycling."
On the opposite side, he looks towards the attacking traits of Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen: "Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lidl-Trek are the opposite of that. They also look at the details, but they race and adapt to the circumstances. Visma can't do that. Normally they should be among the three dominant teams in these races and that is not the case now."
The main goal of Wout van Aert is, as has been said from the start, the cobbled monuments, so there is still room for improvement, but Bruyneel has a hard time seeing how Wout van Aert will match his rivals. "It will not be easy in the big monuments that are coming up. Miracles do not exist in cycling".
"Jorgenson and Van Aert are the big men at Visma and I do not believe that they will reach the level of Van der Poel, Pogacar, Ganna and Pedersen in Flanders and Roubaix. Van Aert simply does not have the legs at the moment. A Van Aert in top form would always have corrected the situation after the Taaienberg in the E3."
It’s quite a limited sport when it comes to stories, they have to try to make news.
Just in
Play for FREE! Fantasy Tour of Flanders
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter today!
Popular news
Latest comments
- if there is an actual weakness in wout even when completely healthy, it’s that he’s in his head too often. this has been pointed out many times by much more acute observers of cycling than ME, certainly. it may be that he’s been like this since he was a little kid. we are who we are. or that he was shaped by having faced van der poel SOOO many times. mvdp has zero second thoughts. he wastes no time at all on doubt. that has, in the past, led him to do some pretty insane things and make mistakes that wout would never have committed. but it also makes him a killer. you can see wout’s split seconds of doubt and hesitation everywhere in their head to head battles. those hesitations spill over into other races at times like dwars, when doubt creeps in. i believe that currently he is still coming back from physical problems due to injuries, but even when he’s full strength the mental game is an area of potential concern, AND potential improvement.OCexile03-04-2025
- Not only the public, just about every analyst and commentator had been piling it on. Under the circumstances I’d even say he’s showing real character. Not sure likeable Tadej would manage as well during a longer rough patch.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- Took a while but we finally have a more nuanced analysis.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- If I remember right, it was those same hungry journalists selling us a different story less than a year ago about the bleak future of Dutch (men’s) cycling with no possible successor for MVDP ;-)Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- Good, hopefully Jonas goes also so we get a nice duelvappaxbipmv03-04-2025
- right? i think it’s hungry journalists that fuel this, and i understand the jam they can be in trying to create stories, but you’d hate to think ANYONE is failing to appreciate how RARE someone like van der poel is (or how LUCKY we are to have both mvdp and pog racing at the same time). a little perspective is a good thing…OCexile03-04-2025
- Anyone know how long that 213km ride took? Coz without that the segment speeds don’t reveal anything surprising. If it took him Less than 5h ok but otherwise it was just some interval training for him.Jumpyjohn03-04-2025
- Hinault was even lighter than Pog at 62 kg when he won PR in 1981, beating Roger van Vlaeminck no less (albeit at the fag end of the latter's career), so it can be done.Cooldude03-04-2025
- Having to shoulder too much pressure from the Belgain public too much that he made a tactical mistake. That's what public pressure does to you. Poor Wout! Hopefully, lady luck befalls him soon.
KerisVroom03-04-2025 - If he's very lucky maybe he can podium a Tour one season, I certainly don't believe he can win it, evervappaxbipmv03-04-2025