Visma-Lease a Bike are going to try, try and try again, until they either "crack" Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), or he cracks them on the road to Paris at this year's Tour de France. But after 10 days of racing, they still sit 1:17 in arrears with their leader, Jonas Vingegaard, after another failed attempt to gain back time on Bastille Day.
While the world champion is still ahead of them, it's hard to argue that the men in yellow and black have been anything but the best full outfit at this year's race, often igniting the racing, Stage 10 being the latest example.
With Pogačar's depleted team, Visma took over on the final inclines to Le Mont Dore but were unable to distance the world champion with several attacks, prompting him into a violent surge which Vingegaard was forced to respond to. The status quo remained once they reached the line.
The mood at the Visma bus post-stage was one of delight, with Simon Yates winning from the breakaway, and Vingegaard again proving to be Pogačar's equal on the climbs so far in this year's race. It was high-fives all around, with team boss Richard Plugge pleased with another good day at the office, though that 1:17 gap – most of which was created after Vingegaard's poor time trial – still clouds what has been an otherwise perfect race so far.
Among the riders trying to help Vingegaard wrest back the Slovenian's advantage when racing resumes after the first rest day are American duo Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss. Both were part of the stage 10 efforts in the favourites group and are ready for the upcoming fight on the remaining 11 race days.
"These first 10 days have been explosive, pretty stressful. We've only had one mountain stage, but the gaps are already pretty big in the GC, so I think it's gonna be one of the hardest Tours ever," Jorgenson told reporters, including Cyclingnews, at the team bus.
"We tried our best these first 10 days to find an opportunity; we didn't quite find it, but we'll keep going this way, and thankfully, we brought some very good climbers along for the ride."
"There are 1000 scenarios that can happen on a day like this, but first of all, it was amazing that Simon could win the stage," Kuss told reporters. "UAE rode a strong race, and we couldn't crack them just yet, but it was nice to try."
The balance of power has definitely swung in Visma's favour, after João Almeida's abandon and Pavel Sivakov's illness but the riders know they will need to be more inventive if they are to defeat Pogačar as they did in 2022 and 2023.
The former of those years saw one of their best-ever days on stage 11, with a series of attacks on the road to the Col du Granon eventually seeing the Dane ride into the distance, with the Slovenian well beaten by the team's strength. That's the blueprint, they just have to find a way for it to materialise.
"Similar to other years, now we're definitely more the underdogs, so we have to be a bit more creative than just going as fast as we can up the last climb," added Kuss. "I think every team has their different tactics: some stick more to the book, some not, but in the end, on stages like this, you can be a bit more creative.
"You never know [when you will crack them], on paper, it's not so easy, but you just have to wait for the moment.
"They're riding really well, really strong, and they have a great team. We just have to focus on our performance, see what we can get out of ourselves and go from there."
Yates, Kuss and US compatriot Jorgenson are going to be key as the race develops into the Pyrenees and Alps after the first rest day, and the morale on the Dutch team couldn't be better. With climbs they've previously shown Pogačar up on arriving soon – Hautacam, Ventoux and Col de la Loze – the confidence will continue to rise.
"I think that's up to the people to decide," who's been the stronger team, "but personally, I really enjoyed the first week with the guys," said Jorgenson.
"We were always where we needed to be together, and it was a pleasure. I'm also having a bunch of fun with the group, and we're laughing a lot, so it's a really good atmosphere."
Now, laughs and a good atmosphere won't bring them the yellow jersey, but using all of their weapons against UAE's hampered roster looks like it could, as it was in 2022, be the path to Vingegaard challenging and possibly beating Pogačar.
"In the ideal scenario, yes, but I think also today in the final climb, you saw who the two strongest climbers of this Tour are," said Visma's Head of Racing Grischa Niermann, to the question of whether the numbers game could be the key to victory.
"In 500 metres, they put 20-25 seconds into the rest, so it is especially a fight between those two, but hopefully others will play a role."
Vingegaard was up to the challenge of the punchy roads from Lille to Toulouse, but with the high mountains approaching, he's heading back to his favoured terrain, and with the strongest team in the race to help him pursue a third maillot jaune. Who will crack first?
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