One man who has started the year in typically winning form is the aforementioned Vingegaard, who took a stage and the general classification at the
Volta ao Algarve. "I think we can be happy, very happy. Considering that in view of the Tour we haven't had any high altitude periods for him yet," De Groot says of the Dane. "So yes, we are very happy with his level, I think it's already a good sign also for how it arrived."
As mentioned, the main target for some of the biggest names in Team Visma | Lease a Bike, is peaking for the 2025 Tour de France, in order to best support Vingegaard in his fight to reclaim the Maillot Jaune from
Tadej Pogacar. As such, De Groot is not concerned by some notable names not quite being at the level expected at this early point of the year.
"I think this is a very important factor," he concludes. "They are teams at an incredibly high level to support great champions and we have great confidence that our riders can compete with the world champion. So we will do everything we can to create a very, very strong team in these races, to support Jonas, to try to compete with the one who to date is the strongest of them all. But we will all have to be at our best, I think it's going to be a huge spectacle and we want it to be uncertain until the end."