With Jonas Vingegaard, the Visma-Leasa a Bike team has one of the biggest cycling stars in its own ranks. Nevertheless, former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis suspects financial problems for the Dutch.
“I no longer believe that Visma is financially anywhere near number two or three in the World Tour field. They are far away from the three biggest teams (UAE, Lidl-Trek and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, editor’s note),” said Bjarne Riis in an interview with the Danish cycling portal “Feltet”.
The cycling icon from Denmark added: “In my opinion they are a team that lacks money – because many of their strong riders are saying goodbye even though they would like to keep them.”
Most recently leaving Visma were top sprinter Olav Koij, who moved to Décathlon, Paris-Roubaix winner Dylan van Barle, who joined Soudal, and tour talent Cian Uijtdebroeks, who moved to Movistar.
On the other hand, you won’t find any prominent newcomers. Time trialist Bruno Armirail (came from Décathlon) and climber Davide Piganzoli (came from Polti) are the most prominent new names.
Visma has decided to “invest massively in Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard,” Riis further emphasized: “But the drivers directly behind them are leaving because the team simply can’t afford them anymore.”
Riis cannot understand criticism of UEA
Unlike many others, Riis is not critical of the fact that top teams like UAE Team Emirates are financially short-changed.
“Yes, they may have an unlimited budget, after all, those are the rules. There is no salary cap,” said the 61-year-old: “Big teams like UAE and Lidl-Trek stick to the rules, and they have managed to hire talented people and find young drivers with great potential.”
In the course of this, Riis also addressed critics of the financial imbalance. “There are currently no financial restrictions. Accept it instead of complaining,” said the Dane.