'We'll see big time gaps' – Visma and Jonas Vingegaard eye first Tour de France mountain test after failed attempts to distance rivals in crosswinds

(From L) Team Visma - Lease a bike team's US rider Matteo Jorgenson, Team Visma - Lease a bike team's Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard and Team Visma - Lease a bike team's US rider Sepp Kuss, and Team Visma - Lease a bike team's Belgian rider Tiesj Benoot await the start of the 9th stage of the 112th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 174.1 km between Chinon and Chateauroux, central France, on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP) (Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images).

After another day of putting the Tour de France peloton on red alert in the crosswinds, Visma-Lease a Bike and Jonas Vingegaard are ready to swap out their Classics stars and deploy the top climbers among their ranks on the first mountain stage of the race.

Eight days of brutally-fast action on flat, exposed and punchy roads have seen Visma use their big men to try and break up the racing and take time on their GC rivals, with mixed success.