"We miss some important data" - Visma manager doesn't dismiss Vingegaard's second jab at Giro-Tour double
Cycling
The 2027 Tour de France route has been revealed this week. Compared to previous editions, it's quite an intriguing one. Fewer brutal summit finishes, very few hilly stages, and more than enough time trial kilometers. From quick look it seems like a great opportunity for Jonas Vingegaard to break Tadej Pogacar's winning streak, and add his own third Grande Boucle title.
As Tom Dumoulin stated clearly in his first impressions, this route seems to have been made to limit Tadej Pogacar's strengths as much as possible. Although the 70 kilometers of time trials might suit Remco Evenepoel even better than Vingegaard, it is nevertheless a great opportunity for the Slovenian to be defeated.
"We have to work with the parcours that is there. And if this is it, then we need to find a way to use it as best as possible," Visma | Lease a Bike manager Richard Plugge told TV2 somewhat reluctantly his own impression of the present course.
The first thing that stood out to the Australian was at hand; the two long time trials - something that has disappeared a bit in recent years from the route designs. "There are also two big time trials, so we have to work on that and on the whole parcours with the whole team. Like I said, we have to analyse it first and then talk about it."
In any case, contrary to the harsh comments from some pundits and ex-pros such as Dumoulin, Plugge finds the 2027 parcours well-designed - a breathe of a nostalgy to how Grand Tours used to be designed.
"At first glance, it looks like a fairly balanced route, with several flat sprint stages, explosive finales and tough mountain stages," he said in a statement published on the team's website. "The two long, relatively flat time trials stand out in particular. It's been a long time since we've had that in the Tour."
The only aspect he lacks a bit are decisive mountain stages with hard enough final ascents: "Compared to last year, I count fewer summit finishes, and in my opinion, there could have been more."
Crucial data left in the Alpes
In 2026, Jonas Vingegaard attempted a daring combination of Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. At the Italian Grand Tour, he did not find much resistance from runner-up Felix Gall, allowing the Dane to fully focus to arrive to France as fresh as possible. There, things looked well enough for the 29-year-old to secure a second position until a stage 15 crash ruled him out of the race.
Regadless, Plugge confirms that Visma were pleased with how Vingegaard fared in his second Grand Tour, and only regretted that they couldn't acquire the data on how he'd compare to Pogacar in the third week.
"He was really in good shape," Plugge said. "Obviously, he had a big, big crash unfortunately, so he could not show ultimately how it worked out in the last week. That was obviously the big challenge and the big question going forward."
"To do a proper analysis, it's more or less difficult because we missed, let's say, from stage 15 onwards, we missed some data."
But if they were to attempt the same double, the preparation is said to be quite comparable.
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Giro-Tour double back on the table
Although no decision has been made on which Grand Tours will Vingegaard target yet, Plugge left the door open to whether Vingegaard could return to the Giro before targeting the Tour in 2027.
"Again, it's October. We are now in the process of analysing everything, evaluating, speaking with Jonas, speaking with all the other riders, speaking with the coaches and sports directors," he said. "It's something we will decide in the coming weeks, together."
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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- I actually expect Remco to crash or have a bad day due to the aircon or something.abstractengineer24-10-2026
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- PogiFanSlobberBoy once again clowning here! Look in the mirror and you'll see the foolish one!frieders324-10-2026
- Yawn ! Another ridiculous comment from a bike doper !frieders324-10-2026
- What is Roll smoking? McNulty would never contend in the big mountain stages...ever!frieders324-10-2026
- blah blah blah !frieders324-10-2026
- Not countering your facts but sometimes context is also important. The TT against Roglo wasn’t exactly a TT as most people think of them, with almost 1000m gained over less than 40km it was more a mountain top stage finish without the preliminaries.Jumpyjohn23-10-2026
- I believe organizers would do well to just focus their efforts on improving safety, for both riders and spectators. Let the riders compete against each other, that is their job. The organizers' job is to provide a safe venue for the riders to exhibit their talents, for the enjoyment of the fans. Pogacar, the sport's top rider, crashing in La Vuelta in a freak accident, because of a rock strewn on the road, and missing 4 major events as a result, is just disgusting for the fans, no matter what the results may turn out to be. No justification for trying to influence the outcome in any way to favor any competitor.FredMan23-10-2026
- Good luck with that. Pogacar is the best ever and UAE best team ever. I understand why organisors try but its impossible they are to good and the combo is insane.miguel23-10-2026
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