Five key questions facing Visma-Lease a Bike in the post-Niermann era
From leadership and rider morale to recruitment, staff retention and long-term succession planning
Hi Subscribers,
Grischa Niermann’s August 31 departure from Visma-Lease a Bike marks another significant management change in the team’s recent history. Coming just weeks before the Tour de France, the timing could hardly be more disruptive for a team whose season revolves around supporting Jonas Vingegaard's bid to reclaim the yellow jersey and become the title holder of all three Grand Tours at once.
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While Visma have moved quickly to promote Marc Reef and stress continuity within the organisation, Niermann's exit for Lidl-Trek raises a series of important questions that extend far beyond this summer's Tour.
From leadership and rider morale to recruitment, staff retention and long-term succession planning, Visma now face a crucial period as they attempt to prove that one of cycling's most successful teams can thrive without one of its most influential figures.
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Can Visma overcome the loss this close to the Tour de France?
Richard Plugge didn’t mince his words at this afternoon’s Visma-Lease a Bike press conference, telling the media he was ‘surprised, disappointed, and sad’ that Niermann had called him two weeks ago to inform him of his decision to leave the team. Plugge went on to explain that he wanted his team to be ‘anti-fragile’ in such scenarios, but the pressing matter at hand is that the Tour de France starts in just over a month, and the team’s head of racing will be watching from the sofa.
Of course, Visma have dressed this up by stating that Niermann will ‘remain attached to the team, albeit in a more behind-the-scenes role’, but that’s just another way of describing it as gardening leave. Niermann will not be at the Tour. He will not be in the team car or on the team bus to make critical decisions, and he leaves a big void within the management structure.
The pressing need will be for Visma’s remaining leadership to rally and shore up any gaps in their strategy and planning. On the positive side, most of the hard work has already been done. Training schedules were created in the winter, long lists have become short lists, and the team will head to the Tour with the clear aim of winning the yellow jersey through Jonas Vingegaard. It also helps that the team have been there, done it, and have literally worn the yellow jersey, but losing a figurehead of this stature will be felt in the small details, and when unplanned scenarios crop up, as they naturally will at the Tour de France.
Reef, while not in the official Head of Racing role until September 1, must take on the role with immediate effect. The next couple of weeks will no doubt involve a handover of information and advice, and Niermann might still be at the Tour de Suisse, but come the Grand Depart, Reef, Plugge, and the remaining management must act as though Niermann has already left the building.