"Tadej wasn’t caught out — he’s not easily surprised” but Victor Campenaerts insists Visma must 'stick to the plan' at 2025 Tour de France
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike tried their upmost to explode the Tour de France on stage 10, but when all was said and done, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard once again proved evenly matched. According to Victor Campenaerts however, Visma must not get downhearted and must "stick to the plan" of putting pressure on UAE for the remainder of the race.
Campenaerts, who spent most of the day in breakaway alongside his eventual stage winning teammate Simon Yates, reflected on his efforts in conversation with Sporza post-stage. “The message from the car was clear: Simon was to go for the stage win, and I was to wait at the top of the final climb,” Campenaerts explained. “Simon said he wasn’t feeling great, but he still managed to win."
Having dropped back to the GC group however, Campenaerts noted how despite all Visma's hard work and pressuring, Pogacar remained supremely relaxed. "I saw firsthand how Tadej wasn’t caught out — he’s not easily surprised,” the Belgian rues. “It would’ve been nice if he’d been dropped and I could’ve taken my turn, but as it was, there wasn’t much to be done. All we can do is try and stick to the plan.”
“It was a brutally tough course, and the strongest riders rose to the top. It didn’t hurt us that Ben Healy went all in for yellow, though I might’ve preferred if UAE had ridden a bit more recklessly and chased us like madmen,” he added with a smile in conclusion. “Of course, they knew it wouldn’t work if they tried to control things until a break formed without anyone from Visma in it.”
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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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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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