The Wild World of Tour de France Training: How ‘Heat Suits,’ Wearables, and Recovery Hacks Accelerated the Race
Preparing for the Tour de France has become a precision science that's made 'racing to train' obsolete.
Team analysis by Bernard Thévenet, two time winner of the Tour de France.
Vingegaard Of Course!
Weary of his bad luck in the Tour, Primož Roglič has opted for the Giro and has left defending champion Jonas Vingegaard in total charge.
I don’t think that this will be hard for the Dane to deal with because this team leaves nothing to chance. He will bear the pressure of being the defending champion, but his team is very strong, with Wout van Aert, who will retain some freedom and can compete for another green jersey, Christophe Laporte, Steven Kruijswijk, Sepp Kuss and Tiesj Benoot.
In 2022, the team was competitive on all fronts and seized its opportunities. Opting not to wait for others to fail is a winning strategy.
Team Info
General Manager: Richard Plugge Sponsors: Dutch national lottery; Norwegian business software and services company Team Founded: 1994 Bike: Cervélo Drivetrain: SRAM Wheels: Reserve Clothing: Agu Team Leader: Jonas Vingegaard (Den), 26 Support Riders: Lineup yet to be confirmed
Team News & Analysis
Team analysis by Bernard Thévenet, two time winner of the Tour de France. Vingegaard Of Course! Weary of his bad luck in the Tour, Primož Roglič has opted for the Giro and has left defending champion Jonas Vingegaard in total charge. I don’t think that this will be hard for the Dane to deal with because this team leaves nothing to chance. He will bear the pressure of being the defending champion, but his team is very strong, with Wout van Aert, who will retain some freedom and can compete for another green jersey, Christophe Laporte, Steven Kruijswijk, Sepp Kuss and Tiesj Benoot. In 2022, the team was competitive on all fronts and seized its opportunities. Opting not to wait for others to fail is a winning strategy. Team Info General Manager: Richard Plugge Sponsors: Dutch national lottery; Norwegian business software and services company Team Founded: 1994 Bike: Cervélo Drivetrain: SRAM Wheels: Reserve Clothing: Agu Team Leader: Jonas Vingegaard (Den), 26 Support Riders: Lineup yet to be confirmed Team News & Analysis
Preparing for the Tour de France has become a precision science that's made 'racing to train' obsolete.
Nike's iconic 'Swoosh' nudges back into men's cycling after long absense in lifestyle apparel deal with super team of Vingegaard and Van Aert.
US stars Kuss, Jorgenson are key players in Visma's 'dream team' to support Jonas Vingegaard in bid for Tour de France supremacy.
Is it possible to bring a rider to the level of Pogačar? Performance gurus across the WorldTour are still searching for the solution on the eve of the Tour de France.
'Measuring ventilation in the field will provide us massive learnings': V-LAB confirms it will start racing with pioneering sensors that provide best possible measure of physiological strain.
After missing last year's Tour de France, Kuss needs to shine this weekend in the Critérium du Dauphiné: 'The hardest stages of the Tour are still some weeks away.'
Cervelo's team in yellow appears to be on a new set of Cervelo S5 aero bikes, while Factor seems to have a wild new aero bike right around the corner.
Vingegaard expected to be joined by Jorgenson, Kuss, Van Aert, Yates for box office brawl with Pogačar. UAE Emirates isn't intimidated: 'We're not afraid of anyone.'
Tour de Hoody: Simon Yates' raid elevates Visma-Lease a Bike into class of its own and saves the 2025 Giro d’Italia from itself.
Visma-Lease a Bike phenom continues incredible breakout with stage and GC rout of Norway – but don't you dare draw comparisons: 'I'm not Van Aert or Cavendish'
Yates celebrates a spectacular GC revival Sunday in Rome, Del Toro and Carapaz scrape for answers in the ashes of their own disappointment: 'I gave everything I had.'
Del Toro, Carapaz were left reeling after Yates and Visma-Lease a Bike unleashed a devastating tactical ambush on the Colle delle Finestre at the Giro d’Italia.
Visma-Lease a Bike boss Richard Plugge comes out swinging ahead of Dauphiné-Tour slugfest with Pogačar: 'I have no reason to believe we can't go for yellow again.'
VIDEO: Fans capture different angles of decisive crash at the Giro d'Italia that shakes up GC as Van Aert denies unfair advantage: 'We were here to win the stage.'
Visma-Lease a Bike’s curse of injury and illness continues as all-terrain French ace Laporte ruled out with ongoing, long-term sickness.
Jonas Vingegaard and Victor Campenaerts spotted riding what appears to be a new Cervelo S5 aero bike with a few key changes.
Belgian star Wout van Aert stymied after first three days of Giro d’Italia: ‘I didn’t want to push my body too far.’
Pedersen and Lidl-Trek leave Albania flying high, Van Aert and Visma-Lease a Bike return to Italy searching for Giro salvation.
Can Kooij confirm? Will Pedersen and Van Aert run riot? What of old dog Bennett? A range of rider characteristics and stage profiles leave things up in the air for the Giro’s sprinters.
Ferrand-Prévot 'not fit enough to continue' Spanish tour after suffering crucial time-losses on Wednesday's stage.
Van Aert reveals viral infection derailed two weeks of training and leaves him unsure of form: 'Pink has become more of a dream than reality.'
Criticism from Ferrand-Prévot following Vuelta chaos: ‘Can’t believe what happened…this is SO amateur’
'Any rider who has children is considering what risks they take.' Vingegaard is healed from devastating injuries in Basque, concussion in Paris-Nice, but are there mental scars?
Analysis: WorldTour relegation/promotion tightens up as the action shifts into the points-rich grand tours. For teams on the bubble, every sprint is now a race for survival.
Trainer backs controversial altitude-heavy, race-lite approach as Vingegaard scrambles back from concussion: 'We know this works.'
Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save millions on a pro team jersey sponsorship.
After crashing out of Paris-Nice with a concussion, Vingegaard says he's fully recovered and focused on a Tadej Pogačar rematch: 'Leaving nothing to chance.'
Tour de Hoody: Is winning the only thing that matters in professional cycling? Probably not, but it's usually the only thing that anyone remembers.
Vos inks same deal as the unprecedented agreement Wout van Aert announced in September.
Will the revolutionary wearables developed with and used by Visma-Lease a Bike become the next must-have training tool? Here's all you need to know about the 'VitalPro.'
Gravaa hit the big time when Ferrand-Prévot and Visma-LAB won Roubaix Femmes with tire pressure regulators. But skepticism remains over reliability, weight, and usability.
‘I gave everything I had': Despite rising form and near-misses, another spring passes for Wout van Aert without a win in 'Holy Week.'
Olympic MTB champion making rapid progress since returning to the road, including a storming win this weekend.
Dutch team neutralizes the threat of world champion, with Ferrand-Prévot and Vos taking first and third.
Will Gravaa gadgets and hotshot rookie Matthew Brennan help Van Aert write his fairtale ending at Paris-Roubaix? 'Game changer' system being tested in cobblestone recons.
'The Ronde doesn’t lie': Van Aert full of praise for Pogačar as last-chance saloon at 'Hell of the North' looms next.
The American star wanted more from the spring classics and will not race again until the Critérium du Dauphiné: 'It wasn’t the best classics season for me.'
Matteo Jorgenson on Dwars finale: 'We decided to go for the sprint with Wout, and that was the wrong decision.'
'I didn't think I could win until the final 100 meters': Out-numbered Powless outmaneuvers Visma-Lease a Bike in tactical nightmare.
Van Aert reveals that he didn't want his teammates to attack so they could deliver him to the line: 'I was afraid to be behind a teammate who attacked.'
Will 'bigger' become 'better'? Uno-X Mobility trainer Olav Bu puts new twist on the nutritional revolution with idea that key performance parameters increase at an outsize rate to bodymass.
US star upright and on-form ahead of Dwars door Vlanderen title defense, Tour of Flanders as questions circle Van Aert: 'At E3 Classic we fell short. At Gent-Wevelgem we were unlucky.'
Jorgenson backs Van Aert for Flanders revival: 'I have confidence he will be ready for De Ronde.'
Wout van Aert flat when he needed to fly, Matteo Jorgenson just misses deciding move at E3 Saxo Classic: 'We were too far in the back.'
Ashlin Barry wins bunch sprint and up next is the prestigious junior edition of Paris-Roubaix, where he finished seventh last year.
Is this the year WVA will finally win Flanders or Roubaix? Question more urgent than ever with rise of teammate Jorgenson and historic performances of arch-rivals.
Another pothole in the path toward the Tour: Visma-Lease a Bike leader missed nine days of training and remains uncertain if he'll race again before June.
Tour de Hoody: Crashes, comebacks, and questions — Roglič is last man standing in the Big 4’s rocky start to 2025.
19-year-old Matthew Brennan beats back experienced pros at GP Denain in northern France: 'He has a nose for the right moment.'
The Americans came out on top in the final stage of Paris-Nice, but let’s take a step back to see how we got here.
Two-time yellow jersey 'not yet recovered sufficiently' after recent crash at Paris-Nice, not scheduled to race again until June. Will he be ready for his showdown Pogačar?
Back-to-back wins at Paris-Nice has convinced Jorgenson that a grand tour could be in his future: ‘Now it’s time to set the bar higher.'
'It's a long journey': The dormant powerhouse squad has come out swinging after a winter reboot, but longer-term issues remain in its quest to catch back to the 'super teams.'
Huge day for USA as 22-year-old Sheffield wins final stage solo and Jorgenson defends overnight GC lead in three-hour thrill-ride around Nice.
'It is best for him to recover at home': Visma-Lease a Bike is relieved because a serious fracture would have forced him off the bike for weeks.
Two-time Tour de France winner grimaced in pain at the finish line but has apparently avoided more serious injuries: 'Our medical staff will decide tomorrow if he is fit enough to continue the race.'
If you can't swallow 120g of carb per hour, you're getting dropped. Riders have to train their stomachs in precisely dialed feeding frenzies to keep up.
Vingegaard 'honored' to represent building material supplier Bygma with custom Giro helmet; Astana has a clever reason behind its curious time trial socks and gloves curation.
The American will wear yellow in a Paris-Nice stage for the first time Wednesday after winning last year's 'Race to the Sun' on the final day.
American rider and Jonas Vingegaard share leadership: ‘I will be just as happy if Matteo wins,’ insists double Tour de France winner.
How will returning superstars Ferrand-Prévot and Van der Breggen stand up against the WorldTour best in one of the season's hardest races?
'It could be as big a breakthrough as the first heart rate monitor': Visma is using a powerful new wearable from Tymewear that brings fourth dimension performance insights.
A busy week on social featuring a birthday win for Jasper Philipsen, cherry juice recovery cocktails, and more.
Second to an unstoppable Philipsen helped save 'Opening Weekend' for Visma: 'I was in the right position but missed the final kick.'
Matteo Jorgenson upbeat despite missed chance in season debut: 'It just wasn’t very selective.'
Lidl-Trek uses SRAM Red XPLR gravel group, Visma-Lease a Bike goes all-aero as cobblestone racing enters new era.
Sources confirm the governing body is investigating the in-competition use of new monitors which provide a 'gold standard' measure of metabolic output.
Where does American fit into Visma's multi-leader classics approach? 'We don't have an hierarchy. We play many cards.'
Dutch mega-bank will take a space of the Visma jersey from the Tour de France onward, 12 years after exiting cycling in the grizzly fallout of the EPO era.
Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson headline Visma-Lease a Bike in cobbles opener as illness and injury strike Dutch super team after an 'unlucky week.'
Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike up the stakes in the crank 'arms race' after Pogačar switched down to a 165mm set-up for his blockbuster 2024 season.
Vingegaard narrowly prevented a UAE grand slam last week, but peloton prankster Pogačar and his kindergarten of future crushers made the dominance 'acceptable.'
Race jury turns blind eye to Feltrin's maneuver and his win stands against Van Aert and all-star Belgian field: 'Look at the top-10 that I beat.'
Vingegaard, Kuss, Van Aert debut at Portuguese tour in first test of Visma’s 2025 quest to reclaim 'super team' superiority in cobbled classics and Tour de France.
UAE Tour serves as wakeup call for Ferrand-Prévot on how much road racing's evolved: 'I know it will take time to adapt.'
Visma-LAB confirms selected use of aero-efficient TT helmets in road races after Wout van Aert and Niklas Behrens spotted training and racing in the Giro Aerohead.
How does Visma-Lease a Bike approach its training? A little differently than its biggest rival.
Experts believe the supposed 'carb ceiling' can be shattered - the performance impact could be bonkers: '120g/hr is a reference, but the exact number is far higher.'
Meet Axelle Dubau-Prévôt, Pauline's younger sister, who will compete in Unbound Gravel, Leadville, and the other Life Time Grand Prix events in 2025
Court of Cassation cannot save Visma-Lease a Bike superstar from whopping severance payment in final chapter of legal brawl with former employer.