“We really have nothing to lose” – Visma go all guns blazing on Mont Ventoux

Team Visma | Lease a Bike launched their most coordinated offensive of the Tour de France so far on Mont Ventoux, unleashing a multi-rider effort designed to unsettle the race leader. Wout van Aert opened the assault, followed in sequence by Simon Yates, a huge pull by Sepp Kuss, and finally the satellite support of Tiesj Benoot and Victor Campenaerts. Each move was intended to pile pressure on Tadej Pogacar and create a crack in the yellow jersey’s armour. But by the summit, Pogacar remained firmly in control.

"In a way it's a nice or interesting position to be in, because there's already a decent margin, so we really have nothing to lose by trying," Sepp Kuss said at the summit. "We can really go down swinging and try at every moment."

Kuss went on to say, "It's an interesting position to be in, because we really have nothing to lose. Jonas doesn't care if he loses more time, or if he loses a place in the GC. We don't know exactly where we'll attack, but at least just with the mindset that there's nothing to lose, and that makes it motivating for the rest of us to give it everything and not end the Tour with any regrets."

With Pogacar holding a firm grip on yellow and Joao Almeida out of the race, Visma appears to have the stronger climbing team as the Tour heads into its final Alpine challenges. In Yates and Kuss, Vingegaard is supported by two grand tour winners in their own right, and Jorgenson is also usually very strong when the road goes uphill. Still, Pogacar has yet to show any signs of faltering.

"In the end we just want to have fun racing and go for it and think outside the box when it's possible," Kuss added. "I think the most important thing is that Jonas feels good and then with that we can do a lot of interesting things."

Such was the pace set by Visma, that Pogacar and Vingegaard both smashed Pantani’s long-lasting record on the climb. Remember too, that this was the climb where Vingegaard first put the Slovenian in to difficulty four years ago in 2021, when Wout van Aert won the stage. Those incredible memories were likely what spurred the Dutch team on yesterday.

Visma’s tactics on Ventoux were ambitious. Victor Campenaerts revealed that plans shifted mid-race in an effort to surprise Pogacar. "Initially, we wanted to try to ride to within 1.5km of the summit, because from there it gets steeper again," he said. "But Jonas told me he wanted to go earlier so Tadej couldn't recover. It looked really impressive."

Benoot outlined the full scope of the plan, which hinged on careful timing and placement of key riders in the breakaway. "We wanted to put pressure on Pogačar of course," he said. "It was good that we had two guys in the break, so I could wait until Simon [Yates] and Sepp were done, then on my turn Jonas went again and I think Victor [Campenaerts] was straight there."

Even in defeat, Benoot saw positives in the team’s execution of the plan. "We did our best today, with the headwind after Chalet Reynard we knew he would need a teammate – it was a big advantage to have a teammate. We succeeded in the plan, and two more Alps stages to go."

As for Vingegaard, his teammates were left encouraged by what they saw. "I didn't talk to Jonas yet, but he looked really good," Benoot said. "It was also impressed after I did my turn that he could still accelerate."