"There wasn't really much we could do" - Visma domestiques on the hopelessness of trying to find Pogacar's weakspot
Cycling
You cannot blame Visma | Lease a Bike for not trying. But despite their best efforts, Tadej Pogacar seems invincible and well on his way to win the fourth Tour de France in his career. Jonas Vingegaard once again tested the Slovenian on Col de la Madeleine with 80 kilometers to go, but with no effect. At the end of the day, Pogacar gained even more time on the Dane.
"First of all, we wanted the right setup in the breakaway and a good gap to be able to use someone later," Vingegaard's teammate Sepp Kuss revealed at the finish line a bit from team strategy heading into stage 18. "The start was super, super difficult on the Glandon. I was already thinking: let's see if I can finish."
However the American's tasks that day were on the slopes of Col de la Madeleine where he was to launch Vingegaard towards hopefully an epic GC raid. "On the Madeleine, we had planned to just set our own pace, then try to throw Jonas [Vingegaard] towards the top."
"It looked good, but Pogacar was right on his wheel," Kuss recalled the sparse information he received through radio broadcast. His race could've stopped when Vingegaard accelerated, but as the group came to a standstill in the valley to Col de la Loze, Kuss returned to the front of the race for one more shift, finding a completely new situation. "It seemed like there were a few attacks between the two climbs, in the flat part."
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With third man overall Florian Lipowitz few minutes up the road, the cards have turned against Visma. "We didn't have an ideal situation with Lipowitz in front. So the pressure fell more on us than on UAE. Simon [Yates] did a great job, he almost climbed the whole climb. Then UAE took over, and at that point, there wasn't really much we could do to open up big gaps. But hey, it was a good stage."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Love this guy. He is such a pure racer.mij07-11-2026
- Fair enough. Everyone’s entitled to one and I respect yours! Nothing wrong with being a one week and GT guy if that’s his vibemij07-11-2026
- LOL...it's a predetermined finish ! N one is 'clashing' at these exhibition crits!frieders307-11-2026
- Surely the UCI and the race organisers have a responsibility to ensure the best medical care is available to riders when incidents like this happen. All very well pushing for global expansion but not so good if riders lives are put at risk because medical support is not up to scratch.Andy12306-11-2026
- Well it clearly helps that this was Pidcock's own car, no?Occam06-11-2026
- The American performance at the World's road race was a masterclass in cycling tactics. If it wasn't McNulty, it might well have been Jorgensen or Simmons to take off and win in a solo break.Occam06-11-2026
- What a gimmick
Rafionain-Glas06-11-2026 - Thats only cause he rides for UAE. In any other team he would be captain in many races atleast. UAE is just to crazymiguel06-11-2026
- He seems to be the rare athlete whose passion and curiosity about life beyond his sport equals his extraordinary achievements in it. It would be great for him to risk less of that life. He seems very grateful and joyful for what he has already attained.
MarkFour06-11-2026 - As much as I admire and even revere Wout, the less I know about his backside the better.MidnightRider06-11-2026
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