From van der Poel to van Aert - Alpecin classics specialist makes the switch to Team Visma | Lease a Bike

Timo Kielich will leave Alpecin-Deceuninck at the end of the season and join Team Visma | Lease a Bike in 2026. The 24-year-old Belgian from Sint-Truiden has become a key domestique in the spring classics for Mathieu van der Poel’s team, but will now take on a similar role within the Dutch squad. Kielich is also active in cyclocross, gravel, and mountain biking, and has gained valuable stage race experience by riding the Giro d’Italia in both 2024 and 2025. This year, he also won the mountains classification at the Tour de Pologne.

“He will take on a similar role with us,” said Head of Racing Grischa Niermann in a team press release. “Timo is a valuable addition to our spring classics squad to support our leaders (namely Van der Poel’s arch rival Wout van Aert e.d.). Every year, we deal with changes in the team, that’s normal. With Timo’s arrival, we’re anticipating the departure of certain riders from our classics squad. In addition, he will have opportunities in other races to go for his own results. We also believe he can become an even better rider within our team.”

Kielich is enthusiastic about the move. “I see this as a great opportunity for myself,” he said. “This is only my second year in the WorldTour, but when you include my offroad years, I’ve already been part of the same team for eight years. A change of environment will be good for me, and I’m curious to see what it will be like in a new team. Besides the classics, I’m also looking forward to riding a Grand Tour with a team aiming for the general classification.”

Alpecin-Deceuninck have been hit by several departures this transfer window. Alongside Kielich, Quinten Hermans and Xandro Meurisse will move to Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team, Fabio Van den Bossche and Edward Planckaert will join Soudal Quick-Step, while Gianni Vermeersch is heading to Red Bull–BORA-hansgrohe.