"Wout is worth his weight in gold in every way" - Visma boss Plugge on Van Aert, Giro win, Gesink and Tour de France

Richard Plugge has reasons to be happy yesterday in Rome, and after Olav Kooij sealed the stage win and Simon Yates the overall classification, the boss of Team Visma | Lease a Bike was ready after the finish with his pink attire to celebrate the team's first Grand Tour victory in over year and a half. He has talked about some of the most important riders and topics regarding the team over the past few days.

"It's a bittersweet feeling. We're winning one of the most beautiful races in the world, but we have to say goodbye to a beautiful young woman," Plugge said to Sporza. This week the wife of Robert Gesink, Daisy, passed away, casting a dark shadow over what would otherwise be a week of spotless celebration. “She was always there; it's such a blow.”

"The emotions are so close together: one moment you lose, the next you win. We've finished the Giro brilliantly: three stage wins and the pink jersey. I couldn't have wished for more, except that someone else could still be with us." The team had a very modest start to the race, but after stage 9 in Siena everything fit into place.

After stage 19 there was a sense of disappointment in Simon Yates who looked to be losing the ability to win the race. But on Saturday, he turned everything around at the Colle delle Finestre. "It's fantastic how it turned out. Simon Yates rode consistently for three weeks, and in the end, we showed as a team how to make the race tough."

"We really showed team spirit. It's already our team's fourth Grand Tour winner, so it's truly a team victory. I think that's wonderful. I cherish this victory very much, but it's equal to all the others. Of course, the plan was to get Wout over the Finestre. We knew long ago that it would happen on the last day. Simon had his eyes on it because of the past. 2018 he lost the Giro there, but now he could win it. We seized that opportunity."

As it turned out, Yates had the legs to distance his rivals, and then the van Aert plan worked to perfection. "Wout is worth his weight in gold in every way. Yesterday, I saw photos of Wout on the Tour with Jonas Vingegaard on his wheel, and yesterday, it was Yates. Simon rode the fastest time ever on the Finestre. But when Wout accelerates in front of you, you must seal the deal."

It was the perfect sign for the team ahead of the Tour, with both Yates and Van Aert showing a very high level, which will be necessary for Jonas Vingegaard to be able to match Tadej Pogacar throughout the three weeks. "He will now take a break and then gradually build up to the Tour. His role will be slightly different than in recent weeks".

"He's had a great spring, even though he just missed out on a victory. But he's a consistent top rider, so we want to see that again in the Tour. We expect a lot from him," he said of van Aert.