Team Visma | Lease a Bike head to Italy with confidence after Bulgarian opening weekend in Giro d’Italia

# Team Visma | Lease a Bike Looks Ahead After Eventful Giro d’Italia Opening Weekend

The opening weekend of the Giro d’Italia concluded with a challenging stage from Plovdiv to Sofia, Bulgaria, where the peloton faced its first significant test. The stage featured the steep climb over the Borovets Pass, but ultimately, three breakaway riders captured the spotlight before the pack brought the race back together in the final kilometers. Paul Magnier of Soudal Quick-Step emerged victorious in the bunch sprint, while Team Visma | Lease a Bike opted not to contend for victory.

Reflecting on the team’s performance, sports director Marc Reef commented, “The goal was to come through the opening stages safely, and with Jonas we succeeded in doing that. He rode a strong finale yesterday, which gives us a lot of confidence for the rest of this race.” Despite the strong showing from their star rider Jonas Vingegaard, the team faced a setback when Wilco Kelderman experienced a hard crash in the second stage. Reef mentioned, “The downside is that Wilco crashed hard… we’ll have to wait and see how that develops over the next few days. Overall, we’re in a good position and looking forward to the continuation of the Giro in Italy.”

As Monday marks the first rest day of the Giro, the riders will travel from Bulgaria to Catanzaro, Italy, where stage four will begin on Tuesday. This transition presents a new opportunity for Team Visma | Lease a Bike to showcase their strength on Italian soil as the competition heats up.

### Stage 3 Results
1. **Paul Magnier** (Soudal Quick-Step) – 04:09:42
2. **Jonathan Milan** (Lidl – Trek) – +00:00:00
3. **Dylan Groenewegen** (Unibet Rose Rockets) – +00:00:00

### Team Visma | Lease a Bike Rankings
– **19. Jonas Vingegaard** – +00:00:10
– **26. Davide Piganzoli** – +00:00:10
– **50. Bart Lemmen** – +00:01:11
– **55. Sepp Kuss** – +00:01:11
– **102. Davide Piganzoli** – +00:00:00
– **107. Jonas Vingegaard** – +00:00:00
– **169. Tim Rex** – +00:13:56
– **170. Wilco Kelderman** – +00:13:56

As the Giro d’Italia progresses, Team Visma | Lease a Bike aims to recover from early challenges and capitalize on their confidence heading into the Italian stages ahead.