"You always start with bigger ambitions than this" - Visma admit serious difficulties in Tirreno-Adriatico

Team Visma | Lease a Bike have won Paris-Nice, despite the crash and injury of Jonas Vingegaard, but at Tirreno-Adriatico things did not go so smoothly. Although Olav Kooij did win a stage, the team's leadout didn't work as expected and both GC riders showed their own difficulties throughout the week which raises concerns for their Giro d'Italia block.

“It took me a bit of time to settle in, but I felt like I was improving every day," Simon Yates said in a press release. "That’s a good sign for the upcoming period. In just over a week, the Volta a Catalunya is on the schedule. I hope to prove myself there and support the team”. The Briton lost time on the first hilly stage, and ultimately settled with a 14th spot in the overall classification.

On the other hand, Cian Uijtdebroeks abandoned in the final day after getting dropped. The Belgian began experiencing back pain once again, mentally derailing months of improvement. "He's having back problems again, but for the rest, it's hard to put your finger on the problem. First, we have to wash away this disappointment and then look further," Marteen Wynants told Sporza. 

“We can be proud of the stage win we achieved in this race. That was one of our goals beforehand, and we delivered. We came close in the other two sprint stages as well," DS Marc Reef assured to In de Leiderstrui, but he aknowledges the problems: "Unfortunately, the overall classification didn’t turn out as we had hoped. We have to be honest about that. Realistically, this was the best we could achieve at this moment.”

This trio will essentially be the leading group for the Giro d'Italia, and it didn't work out as hoped. Dan McLay was present as the leadout for Kooij but in the flat finishes it didn't look like a very effective partnership. "You always start with bigger ambitions than this and you may hope for more, but realistically this was what was possible at the moment".

"We have to be satisfied with that afterwards, but beforehand you hope for more, also because Simon hoped that there was more in it despite his illness towards the Tirreno. Nevertheless, we are going to Catalunya and the races that follow with more confidence".

Although Reef believes that Wout van Aert's presence at the Giro d'Italia will significantly improve Kooij's positioning into the sprints. "With Wout there, it will be a bit easier, he has already shown that in the past in Great Britain and Almeria. Last year that was also the intention in the Giro, but he did not start there in the end. Now Wout's presence will give the team a boost again".