"They are so resilient. Real team players too" - Big praise for Jonas Vingegaard & Wout van Aert from Visma domestique
Cycling
The two pillars of Team Visma | Lease a Bike, even in injury-hit seasons in 2024, the superstar duo of Jonas Vingegaard & Wout van Aert combined for a total of 14 victories. For Bart Lemmen, this was his first season at Visma and the impressive domestique has been left incredibly impressed by the impressions made by Vingegaard and Van Aert.
"When you see what Jonas and Wout have endured…" the 29-year-old Lemmen begins his assessement of the two Team Visma | Lease a Bike leaders, in conversation with Wieler Revue, referencing the multiple nasty crashes Vingegaard and Van Aert suffered this season. "They are so resilient. Real team players too."
"Not that they are constantly busy with me, but they are both formally and informally the absolute leaders of Team Visma | Lease a Bike," continues Lemmen, who himself embarked on a first ever season at World Tour level in 2024. "They know exactly how to do that. It can be a thank you, but also a short explanation on how I can do things better next time."
As for his own debut season at Visma, Lemmen has left a good impression, including on team stalwart Robert Gesink, who recently praised his compatriot's leadership qualities. "I heard it. Robert said that team leader Addy Engels could leave the bus, but that's not how I experienced it. I had become the advanced pawn completely unexpectedly. You have to act on that in a certain way. That's what I did," Lemmen recalls of the Tour Down Under at the start of 2024. "In the end, it's also a bit of imitation of others. Probably not everyone would take the lead in his first race, which is why Robert noticed. I do remember saying that I wouldn't be dropped on the last bit uphill on the final climb."
"The funny thing is that I had to let go on that small stretch. Luckily I was able to return. That Tour Down Under was a great trip to start with. You're away with the team for two and a half weeks and you quickly build up a bond. That also gave me the freedom to take the lead. I certainly hadn't done that at the first training camp," Lemmen concludes.
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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