"Primoz has made a very large contribution to the exhaustion of Pogacar" - Niermann and Plugge confirm plan success
Cycling
Jumbo-Visma decimated the Tour de France yesterday, using a mix of aggressive tactics and strong depth in the mountains to wear out Tadej Pogacar and ride into the yellow jersey with Jonas Vingegaard after a dominant ascent to the Col du Granon.
Team DS Grischa Niermann shared his thoughts with Wielerflits: "I don't think Pogacar had a very bad day. I think he wasted so much strength on the Galibier that he found himself a little bit later on the Granon because of it. We wanted to advance Primoz Roglic on the Galibier, but he did not want to give Primoz that freedom. With this, Primoz has made a very large contribution to the exhaustion of Pogacar," he explained.
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With Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert in the breakaway, the plan was clear for the Dutch team from the start. However with Primoz Roglic dropped the team had a stepback at the Col du Galibier. The work was done however, and Niermann stresses the importance of the Slovenian in the team's strategy. “After Primoz had ridden off, Pogacar himself led the way for a long time with Jonas in his wheel. I think this cost him a lot of strength".
"He made a very strong impression on the Galibier. He eventually had a breakdown. That is of course good for us," he added. The added workload then favoured the team, which now has a hold of the race with a slight lead over the previous leader.
Team manager Richard Plugge argumented: “It had to happen once with his team, which is severely weakened. You also saw that on the Galibier, where he had to close a lot of holes himself. Our intention was also to wear him down there, so that he would pay for those efforts later.” Sure enough the plan succeeded, and the team is currently holding the lead of the Tour de France.
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.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- A great champion but a better human. jus' sayin'
Davide15-11-2026 - Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
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