"Safety must be without compromise" - Visma boss Richard Plugge believes cycling must stop cutting corners on safety

The issue of safety in cycling has once again become a major topic of discussion in 2025. Recent months have seen multiple tragic incidents in the sport. British junior cyclist Aiden Worden, aged eighteen, lost his life following a training crash earlier this month. Similarly, nineteen-year-old Italian rider Sara Piffer also passed away after a training accident in January.

Richard Plugge, Managing Director at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, has shared his thoughts on the matter. His team endured numerous crashes throughout 2024, affecting key riders such as Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert. Fortunately, both athletes fully recovered, yet concerns about cycling safety remain prevalent.

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Speaking to IDLProCycling.com, Plugge weighed in on the work of SafeR, the safety organisation established in Bilbao in 2023, who recently held an online press briefing. However, it is safe to say that Plugge expressed a strong dissatisfaction with its progress. "There was a great plan. It was ready to go as an independent body and was presented in Bilbao. But in the end, it turned into a political construct where everyone just points fingers at each other. Safety must be without compromise. Now the focus is shifting to the speed of the riders, but come on! Just remove the sidewalk from the Tour, the one that Primoz Roglic and Alexey Lutsenko crashed over. That cost Red Bull a top Tour finish and millions in damage."

He continued by emphasising that ensuring safety involves both rider conduct and course layout. "With all the experts involved in setting up SafeR, we determined that safety is about both rider behaviour and course design. But that fundamental idea is too often ignored. Look at MotoGP, those bikes go five times faster than us. And yet, we finish a race in front of a city hall where cars aren’t even allowed because it’s deemed too dangerous. Where the speed limit is 20 km/h, but we arrive at 70."

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According to Plugge, teams are willing to financially support safety measures. "Teams are willing to invest money in this. Even if it saves just one rider per year, it’s already worth it," he affirms.

"It comes down to decision-making: do they really want to address the issue, or are they just playing politics?" he asks. "So it's up to the sport and the UCI to enforce on race organisers."

Plugge also notes the tendency for discussions on safety to be diverted to other topics, and perhaps 2025 is the year cycling needs to knuckle down and find a solution to this problem. "It’s annoying that people always point to other factors instead of focusing on this. But that’s out of our hands. What we can control is what we do ourselves. There have been times when our own riders admitted they could have ridden more cautiously, so we’ve looked closely at that."

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His team has taken steps to reduce risks, conducting internal reviews on crashes and illnesses. "We first look at what we can do within the team to prevent crashes. We’ve analysed crashes and illnesses within our squad. We’re actively working on it, cognitive testing, training, and so on. Unfortunately, this isn’t just an issue for us but for other teams as well. You can see it now with Remco Evenepoel, who will be side lined for a while."

Looking to the future, Plugge anticipates significant transformations in cycling due to evolving external factors. "I think cycling will look very different in ten years, simply because the world around it is changing. In many places, racing the way we do now is becoming practically impossible due to traffic, permits, and other factors. Ten years ago, the Tour of Flanders was heavily criticized for introducing circuit-style racing, but if they tried to reverse that decision now, it would spark another revolution in Belgium. I think cycling will have to adapt more in that direction to remain manageable."

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"These days, it’s almost impossible to organize a race around Nice because of all the road infrastructure. It’s getting harder and harder." However, he also acknowledges some positive changes. "Look at the Tour of the Netherlands, it should be organized with the future of cycling in mind."

Regarding financial matters, Plugge highlights the necessity of expanding the sport. "When we talk about budgets, which may soon be capped, it’s about growing the sport to new heights. The arrival of Red Bull is fantastic for cycling. INEOS is also an incredible partner. Having such big-name brands involved in the sport is obviously a huge win," he states. He is also open to the idea of Saudi investment in cycling. "A lot of money is flowing into cycling from different directions. Personally, I’m always happy with any support that helps grow the sport—because it gets more people on bikes, moving from A to B using human power instead of cars."

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Plugge reiterates that cycling is competing against other sports, not individual teams. "Our competition is not Picnic or UAE, it’s football and Formula 1," he asserts. "We need to ensure that we can compete with an F1 team or a football club. In Belgium, it’s different, but in the Netherlands, Tom Dumoulin can walk around Amsterdam, and no one will recognize him. That’s not a problem for him, but it is a problem for cycling. How do we change that? By having the top riders race against each other more often."

A key part of his vision involves ONE Cycling, an initiative he stresses that he thinks may hold some positive ideas. "David Lappartient wants to leave the sport in a better place. Everyone is facing the same issue, where will cycling be in ten years? Right now, we have a golden opportunity, and we need to protect it. Lappartient understands that we need to move forward." With speculation about Lappartient potentially moving to the International Olympic Committee, the UCI presidency may soon be up for grabs. When asked about his own ambitions for the role, Plugge dismisses the idea. "I don’t see myself as UCI president. I’m not a politician. David is a great one, but I’m more of a businessman than a politician."

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