"They have a problem" - Analyst believes shock Visma | Lease a Bike departure will disrupt team

Team Visma | Lease a Bike are set to say goodbye to Griescha Niermann in the latest shake-up to the Dutch team's staffing roster. The team's head of racing is on the way to Lidl-Trek, joining the fast-evolving American team in their own staffing re-shuffle announced this week.

The 50-year-old has been part of the team since 2017 and a key member of staff behind their Grand Tour and classics success in recent seasons. He stepped up to the lead role after Merijn Zeeman's 2024 departure and will now be replaced by Marc Reef, the team confirmed earlier this week.

Lidl-Trek are also in the process of a complete staffing makeover as Andy and Frank Schleck hold senior roles while Niermann will be replacing stalwart general manager Luca Guercilena from September - who enjoyed 15 years fronting the successful team.

However, looking back at Visma | Lease a Bike's situation, Dutch analyst Thijs Zonneveld believes the team will have a hard time replacing Niermann, who will not be in the team car in next month's Tour de France.

“I do think they have a problem, because not everyone who has now left is replaceable. When Merijn Zeeman left, we thought that too, but they got through that as well," Zonneveld pondered on the In de Waaier podcast.

Citing the ever-evolving landscape of professional cycling, with big sponsorships significantly bolstering the budgets of competing teams, matched with the lower salaries of staff compared to riders, Zonneveld explained the situation for Richard Plugge's team.

“It is difficult enough that other teams are now not only going after your riders, but also your staff. Staff members do not earn the salary of team leaders, so they are more sensitive to a bigger bag of money. The differences can be huge there. So now you get the situation that your staff will also have to be paid more.”

He added: “The role of sponsors is becoming more and more important. Red Bull, Lidl-Trek and Decathlon now also have real money to spend. It is no longer just UAE and INEOS. Visma will have to defend itself against that. The balance in the cycling world has changed quite a lot."

Not only do Visma have to contend with holes in staffing, but the former Dutch professional had a word of warning about the team's two biggest riders - Jonas Vingegaard and Wout Van Aert - who are now 29 and 31 years-old respectively. Zonneveld wonders if the team will be able to find replacements in the coming seasons.

“It looks completely different now than it did five years ago. Visma’s most successful riders, Van Aert and Vingegaard, are also getting older. They will have to find replacements for them too. And that is becoming more complicated.”