'We have a plan' - Richard Plugge backs Vingegaard Tour comeback

Richard Plugge has dismissed any suggestion of panic at Visma | Lease a Bike as the team prepares to take the fight to Tour de France leader Tadej Pogačar.

Jonas Vingegaard enters the next phase of the race 3:36 behind the yellow jersey. After taking the lead in the opening team time trial, he surrendered that advantage during the stages over the Tourmalet and to Le Lioran, leaving the Dane with considerable ground to make up as the Tour enters a decisive run of mountain stages.

Plugge acknowledged that Visma had conceded more time than expected. He nevertheless insisted that the mood within the team remained positive and that the approaching climbs could offer Vingegaard an opportunity to transform the general classification battle.

“Of course, we may have lost a little more time than we wanted,” Plugge told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. “But we had taken into account that there would be moments when we lost time. We are really looking forward to the mountain stages.”

The Visma CEO also rejected the suggestion that Vingegaard’s bid for a third Tour victory had already become a lost cause.

“There is nothing wrong,” Plugge said. “We just have to keep doing what we need to do. We still want to take the yellow jersey to Paris and we are going to race and fight for it with everything we have for the rest of this Tour. Yes, we are quite a long way behind, but we are going to get to work on that.”

Visma came to the Tour with one objective and Plugge insists that has not changed. “We want to win and we have a plan for that,” he said.

Plugge’s comments came as no surprise to UAE Team Emirates-XRG director Mauro Gianetti. He expects Visma to attack, but believes the danger will not come from Vingegaard’s team alone.

“Of course we still expect something from Visma, but just as much from the other teams,” Gianetti said. “We are prepared for everything.”

The next three stages could already show whether Visma can turn confidence into time gains.

Friday’s 205km run from Dole to Belfort brings the Tour into the Vosges. The first half is largely flat, but the Col des Croix and Ballon d’Alsace make for a harder finale. With almost 30km remaining after the final summit, major attacks among the overall contenders appear unlikely, though the stage could still take something out of the legs.

There will be fewer places to hide on Saturday. The road to Le Markstein includes seven climbs and 3,800m of elevation in only 155km. Four ascents come inside the final 60km, including Geishouse and the Col du Haag. The last kilometre of the Haag rises at more than 10%, with just over five kilometres remaining to the finish.

That is where Visma can begin to test Pogacar’s support and force UAE Team Emirates-XRG to work.

Sunday is harder still. Stage 15 contains around 4,700m of climbing before the summit finish at Plateau de Solaison. The final ascent is 11.6km at an average of 8.9%, with long sections at 11% near the bottom.

Vingegaard won there at the 2022 Dauphiné, but a repeat alone would not be enough. He needs to start taking significant time back from Pogačar.