Visma boss defends not having Dutch riders on Tour team

The 2025 Tour de France is a little over five months, but Visma – Lease a Bike may head to the race without any Dutch riders. The team recently revealed its provisional lineup, and none of the selected riders hail from the Netherlands. After much criticism—by some big names in the country, no less—team boss Richard Plugge has defended the decision.

The team will be Jonas Vingegaard, with Simon Yates (Great Britain), Matteo Jorgensen (U.S.), Sepp Kuss (U.S.), Victor Campenaerts (Belgium), Tiesj Benoot (Belgium), Christophe Laporte (France), and Wout van Aert (Belgium) rounding out the roster. Vingegaard is set once again to lead the squad in the Tour.

Backlash about decision

Former professional cyclist Michael Boogerd commented on the choice, expressing that it’s not a great look for the team.

“How can you ever call this team the flagship of Dutch cycling?” he said to Wielerflits. “No, I don’t think this is normal. And yes, I find it very unfortunate. It shows once again that Visma – Lease a Bike does not care about the level, the image, or the identity of Dutch cycling. They only want one thing: to be the best team in the world. And if that means there’s no room for a fellow countryman, so be it. It’s all about business now.”

Plugge weighs in

Plugge, in a follow-up interview with the same publication, said it was simple: There were no Dutch riders on the team good enough to ride in support of Vingegaard in the world’s biggest bike race.

“We think that right now, with other riders, we have a better chance. With the eight riders we have selected, we are in the best position to win the Tour,” he said.

When asked what that means for young Dutch cyclists who aspire to be pros one day, he said it doesn’t matter. “Children aged 13 or 14 who cycle are mostly winning on their own. Only when they progress further in cycling do they start looking up to others. Don’t hold me to an exact number, but we’ve seen a group of nearly 20,000 children participate in our initiatives. We frequently ask them questions. None of them know who Tom Dumoulin, Dylan Groenewegen, or Steven Kruijswijk are. None,” he said.

No effect on the next gen?

Plugge was asked how that would affect Ready2Race, an initiative by Visma | Lease a Bike to encourage and discover more cyclists in the country to race.

The program offers accessible races for both young and old. “Everyone can participate at his or her own level through different classes within the age categories. This makes it possible for everyone to get to know competitive sport in a fun way,” the team said in a statement. “In this way, Team Jumbo-Visma is trying to increase the pool of competitive athletes in cycling.”

When asked how not having riders from the Netherlands on the Tour team would affect inspiring the next generation, Plugge doubled down.

“Are Dutch riders in the Tour not important for this program?” “Well, no. Not at all, really zero. Younger people don’t need Dutch role models from the Tour. Until they possibly start racing as juniors,” he said. “Then they might be a junior for a year and maybe put up posters above their bed.”

When the program was announced, Plugge himself said that the team started this initiative to ensure more exercise and vitality, but also to hope that cycling talents would emerge thanks to Ready2Race. “Ready2Race makes it more accessible to take part in a cycling race. We hope that this will continue to generate new people for cycling, so that we can continue to put Dutch cycling on the map,” he said. “We saw that there was a gap between people getting on a bike for the first time and riding an official race. The level of the races is often too high for the beginners. We wanted to fill that gap. People who like it and ride well will automatically make the step to the races of the Royal Dutch Cycling Union. However, getting to know competitive sport is the most important thing.”