Visma-Lease a Bike is having trouble with the Tour before it even starts, Sepp Kuss falls due to Covid

The setbacks continue to grow for Visma-Lease a Bike, as just a few days before the start of the Tour de France 2024, they lose one of their main supports for Jonas Vingegaard in the high mountains, such as Sepp Kuss, and one of their backup plans, along with Matteo Jorgenson, in case the Dane cannot reach the necessary level to defend his victory in the French tour.

Tour de France gets complicated for Visma-Lease a Bike before it even starts

It seems that everything is going against Visma-Lease a Bike for the upcoming Tour de France 2024, which starts in Florence in just a few days. If during the spring the doubts were focused on whether their leader, Jonas Vingegaard, could be ready for the start of the Tour de France after the serious fall he suffered in the Itzulia, now bad luck follows his main helpers for the mountains.

Yesterday, Visma-Lease a Bike announced the absence of Sepp Kuss, who had already been announced last week as part of the Tour de France 8, from the French tour after suffering the effects of Covid during the Critérium du Dauphiné, which forced him to abandon the race.

Sepp Kuss, the current winner of La Vuelta a España, was set to be the main man to support Jonas Vingegaard in the high mountains and as an alternative in the team leadership in case of doubts about Jonas Vingegaard's form. Bart Lemmen, a debutant in the Tour de France and who recently finished second overall in the Tour of Norway, will replace Sepp Kuss in the lineup for the Tour de France 2024. Despite being 28 years old, Lemmen has only been a professional cyclist for 3 years, previously serving as a platoon commander in the Norwegian air force, a profession he combined with his passion for cycling until deciding to become a professional cyclist after a successful national time trial.

Lemmen obviously does not match the level of Visma-Lease a Bike, which enters the Tour de France full of uncertainty, as the tactics will rely on Wout van Aert, whose form is also uncertain, or Christophe Laporte, who has also had a tough year.

In any case, the potential of the Dutch team should not be underestimated, as they will likely play a more defensive tactic and try to avoid taking the spotlight as much as possible in order to seize their opportunities against cyclists like Primoz Roglic or Tadej Pogacar, who will surely have a much more offensive attitude.