"When you ride in a peloton for three weeks, suddenly different rules apply" - Vingegaard domestique eager for Giro return

It was revealed to CyclingUpToDate on Team Visma | Lease a Bike's media day that Bart Lemmen was on the lineup for the Giro d'Italia, with the '8' already decided. The Dutch rider rode it in support of eventual winner Simon Yates last year, and this time around he will be one of the riders backing up Jonas Vingegaard.

"The UAE Tour is a really cool race, but I would have ridden it twice in a row. It's a very specific race for sprinters, and then there are the climbs... You can't compare that to what it's like in Europe. I've indicated I don't want to do that anymore," Lemmen said to the microphone of Wielerflits.

Instead, Lemmen will be racing the Muscat Classic and the Tour of Oman this week, whilst he will then undergo the specific preparation towards the Giro which will include Paris-Nice; and then the Volta a Catalunya and an altitude camp with the block that will be riding in the mountains at the Corsa Rosa.

The Dutchman has had a particularly interesting story with pro cycling, turning pro quite late and only joining the World Tour in 2024. Immediately he impressed with the team, finishing fifth in his first outing at the Tour Down Under, and due to the injuries that swarmed the team he ended up being part of the Tour de France team. There, he already got experience working with Vingegaard, who will be the main favourite to win this year's Giro.

"That's what makes cycling the most fun. That you can compete on so many fronts. When you ride in a peloton for three weeks, suddenly different rules apply," he argues. "That's so different from a one-day race. I think I'm relatively good at that. Every time, the last week was my best on the bike. We have so many positive memories of the last Giro; I'd love to experience that again."

Lemmen will be teaming up with Sepp Kuss, Davide Piganzoli and Wilco Kelderman as the men who will be backing up the Dane in the high mountains of the Giro, but he has proven to be at the level required to do a good job in the World Tour peloton. Aside from this big goal, he also hopes to take his first pro win this year elsewhere, something which can happen in the Middle East this week already.

“I always hope to score somewhere. Unfortunately, I didn't manage it last year. Another second place, this time in the Tour of Slovakia. It doesn't matter to me which race it is. I'm so happy to be riding for the team, and I simply enjoy getting one, two, or three chances a year to ride for myself. I prove every time that I'm very close, but it would be nice if I could also raise my hands," he concluded.