Visma boss Plugge was 'surprised' and 'disappointed' when he learned of Niermann's decision to leave the team

Cor Vos

After reports emerged on Monday that Visma-Lease a Bike Head of Racing Grischa Niermann would be leaving to join Lidl-Trek, Visma team boss Richard Plugge confirmed the news in a Tuesday press conference and shed some light on what has been going on behind the scenes for the Dutch squad.

"Like most of you are now, I was surprised when Grischa called me a couple of weeks ago to share his decision to leave," Plugge said.

"I'm very sad that Grischa is now leaving. He just started in his new role, and he was developing more and more. I'm disappointed to see him leave, because as a person and as a great sports director, I have a lot of respect for him, and together we achieved exceptional success, including multiple Grand Tour victories, and most recently our victory in Paris-Roubaix, which was the pinnacle, maybe, of what we tried to achieve."

Niermann, 50, spent the entirety of his own pro career with the Rabobank organization that has evolved to become Visma-Lease a Bike, and after he retired from racing he went to work on team staff. He became a full-time sports director with the squad in 2017 and was a key part of the managerial team overseeing Jonas Vingegaard's two Tour de France wins in 2022 and 2023. At the end of the 2024 season he was promoted to Head of Racing to take over for the departing Merijn Zeeman.

Plugge clarified that Niermann will officially stay on with the team through August 31, working "to support in the background" and attending some races but notably not the Tour de France.

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