"That kid can go so deep" - Visma turn classics specialist into a climber tearing up Alpine climbs

Team Visma | Lease a Bike had a plan for the Giro d'Italia's first multi-mountain stage and they delivered to perfection. Jonas Vingegaard took the stage win, much due to the work of his teammates. In particular, Tim Rex' work early in the day did not go unnoticed, as his pain face leading up the peloton up the climbs was one of the highlights of the day.

“I’m pretty destroyed, yes. I was actually already done, but then suddenly they told me I had to keep riding," Rex shared in words to Sporza. The Belgian, in his first season as a professional, is a product of the Belgian continental scene and has spent 2025 in Visma's development team. He developed as a classics rider, but has been brought in to the team as a domestique and potential road captain in the making. His work for Wout Van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson at Tirreno-Adriatico was notable, and his specialty lays on the flat and explosive races.

However at the Giro, Visma has the responsibility to attack the mountains. By default, both Timo Kielich and Tim Rex have had to go out of their way to deliver on unfamiliar terrain. Rex' pain face on the climb to Lin Noir was notable. "I saw stars and other things than the road. I’m very happy it worked out.”

But this wasn't by chance. Aside from not being a climber, Rex put in a massive 31 minutes at 400 watts pushing the pace for his team. For a rider that is reportedly 70Kg and 1.90 meters tall, that is a feat of power. “It’s a strength of mine that I can keep going until the lights are completely out. I was mainly hurting myself a lot. When I saw how small the group still was, I was surprised by myself," he admitted.

Down to seven riders and having to control a full stage with the likes of Giulio Ciccone, Einer Rubio and more in the breakaway, Visma's achievement was not small. Victor Campenaerts was part of the work on the climb to Pila, but he equally praised Rex for his work earlier in the day.

“We had to get used to it as well. That kid can go so deep. Sometimes you are sitting behind a teammate and you think it will only last another 30 seconds. With Tim, with that body language, you know he can still go on for another half hour," he exclaims.

“We had a very clear plan and we stayed calm the whole time. Everyone was fully committed. Nobody had a bad day.” As Team Sky did back in the 2010's, and UAE Team Emirates - XRG often does for Tadej Pogacar; the team used its men one by one in order to deliver Vingegaard to winning position, and the pink jersey as well.

This is fruit of the work of pure climbers such as Sepp Kuss and Davide Piganzoli, but also the classics specialists who are putting in the work away from their favoured terrain. “The back door was just open behind the peloton when Timo [Kielich] was riding on the front. And you wouldn’t exactly call him a climber. It was just exciting all day long.”