'We are very deliberately focused on ourselves and our own plan' - Visma-Lease A Bike name Tour de France team to back Jonas Vingegaard for GC battle with Tadej Pogačar

Visma-Lease A Bike have announced their team for the 2025 Tour de France to support Jonas Vingegaard as he takes on Tadej Pogačar and tries to win the race for a third time.

Vingegaard and Pogačar and so Visma-Lease A Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG are expected to fight for victory in France in July, but Visma-Lease A Bike do not mention their rivals, with directeur sportif Grischa Niermann saying, "We are very deliberately focused on ourselves and our own plan." They did not say what their plan will be.

The Visma-Lease A Bike Tour de France squad are currently putting the final touches on their training for the Grand Tour at altitude in the Alps. The team is staying in Tignes once again were spotted tackling the key climb of the Col de la Loze during a stage 17 recon ride on Sunday.

Vingegaard is named as the Visma-Lease A Bike GC leader. Giro d’Italia winner Simon Yates is also in the squad behind Vingegaard as he takes on the Tour for the eighth time in his career. 2023 Vuelta a España winner Sepp Kuss is also back in the team, racing his fifth Tour.

Fellow American Matteo Jorgenson, who finished eighth at last year’s race, will be a key cog in the support team for Vingegaard, who won the Tour in 2022 and 2023 before finishing second to Tadej Pogačar in the past two editions.

A trio of Belgians are also in the Dutch squad, with nine-time Tour stage winner Wout van Aert lining up for seventh time. Tiesj Benoot and Victor Campenaerts also make the cut, the latter making his Tour debut for Visma. Van Aert is expected to target some of the rolling stages in the first week and perhaps even the first yellow jersey in Lille on stage 1.

Edoardo Affini is the final rider to make the squad, the Italian time trial specialist and rouleur making his Tour de France debut this summer, replacing Christophe Laporte.

“With these eight very strong riders, we believe in the plan we made for the Tour de France,” Niermann said.

“From day one, we will have to be there as a team to optimally assist Jonas in the GC. In addition, there will be opportunities for several riders to go for stage wins. We are very deliberately focused on ourselves and our own plan.

“We have an optimal preparation behind us, and with that, we think we can get the best possible result.”

Laporte has raced each of the past 10 editions of the Tour but has suffered from cytomegalovirus this season. The 32-year-old hasn’t raced since winning Paris-Tours last October, and the unpredictable nature of the virus, plus the long recovery time, means a comeback to the peloton has yet to be confirmed.

“Unfortunately, he’s been out for a while. He’s already missed the entire Classics campaign, and he won’t be fit for the Tour,” Niermann said back in May.

“We hope he’ll get back in shape and be able to train as quickly as possible. But, for the moment, he’s not 100% yet.”

The team will again race in a new switch-out kit for the Tour in order to avoid a clash with the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey. The Visma-Lease a Bike women's team will also wear the jersey at the Tour de France Femmes.

Following previous Tour designs inspired by Dutch Masters artists, a theme park, and the ‘power of the beehive’ at this year’s Tour of Flanders, the 2025 Tour jersey is named ‘the swarm’ and features thick black and yellow stripes as well as the names of thousands of fans who pre-ordered the jersey back in April.

Visma-Lease A Bike for the 2025 Tour de France

• Jonas Vingegaard (Den)
• Edoardo Affini (Ita)
• Tiesj Benoot (Bel)
• Victor Campenaerts (Bel)
• Matteo Jorgenson (USA)
• Sepp Kuss (USA)
• Wout van Aert (Bel)
• Simon Yates (GBr)

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