Visma Lease a Bike manager believes cycling is at a crossroads: “Cycling is moving forward and backward”

Richard Plugge, manager of the Visma Lease a Bike team, believes cycling is advancing in some areas while regressing in others. After a difficult season, Plugge and his team are hoping for a return to the dominance they displayed back in 2023 as they look toward 2025.

Plugge, speaking with RIDE magazine, emphasized how teams are becoming increasingly professional but noted that innovation is being held back by certain authorities. “The control room is an innovation that was applauded by various teams, with the highlight being a colleague who thanked us for the inspiration for the future,” Plugge explained.

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He went on to highlight key innovations that have moved the sport forward. “The YouTube productions, the control room, our Foodcoach app or the route app Veloviewer that all teams now use for information about the courses. Apart from the (training) technical developments, these are innovations that help the sport move forward.”

Plugge noted that innovation in cycling often comes from collaboration and looking to other sports for inspiration. “We copy ideas from others, others copy us. We look at other sports to learn. And those other sports are our competitors in the battle for the attention of the fan,” Plugge said.

He also pointed to the growing popularity of cycling, crediting the excitement of recent races. “The fact that we are quite successful is shown by the popularity of cycling through the attractiveness of the races of the past years. Cycling teams are therefore taking more and more steps towards an even more professional future, in which the sport and the fans are central.”

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In his column, Plugge also spoke about how much the sport has evolved for fans. “The extent to which you as a fan can follow the sport via the teams and riders, we as cycling fans could only dream of that less than fifteen years ago. And the possibilities are even greater,” Plugge said.

However, despite these advancements, Plugge expressed concern about the slow pace of progress. “While teams and riders innovate, these innovations are being thwarted, stopped or even reversed,” he said, highlighting the challenges the sport faces as it looks to the future.