Attila Valter admits he was stunned by the "honesty and directness" when he first joined Team Visma | Lease a Bike

When Attila Valter joined Team Visma | Lease a Bike in 2023, his dream was to work his way up the ranks of one of the world's best teams and become a key rider for hilly classics. And while the 26-year-old Hungarian certainly became an important rider for the Dutch team, it might be the uniquely honest way of communication he found most valuable in the new environment.

Valter expected Team Visma | Lease a Bike to be top in terms of support. After all, that is why he chose Team Visma | Lease a Bike. But he says in the podcast How To Become A Pro Cyclist by Jack Burke that he was especially surprised by the Dutch approach of the team. "That approach stands for honesty and directness," says Valter.

It took some getting used to to adapt to that. "At first I didn't understand how that would help us, but now I can't imagine a team that is better than Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Maybe the 'Dutch fanboy' in me is speaking, but that's because of the Dutch way of working. For the Dutch, that directness is so normal. The first time I made a mistake, someone came up to me and told me not to do it that way. That surprised me."

There is always room for an open discussion within Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "In my country, and I think in most countries, that feels uncomfortable. You don't say things out loud, or not directly to the person. It doesn't feel good. It felt strange to me, but afterwards I got used to it."

The best example comes from Strade Bianche 2023, where Valter and teammate Tiesj Benoot seemed to be riding against each other more than with each other. "I thought I was doing well, but he said I had brought a group back to him. After the race he said: 'Let's wait until our heart rate is under a hundred, then we'll take a shower and then we'll talk about it on the bus.'"

"In any other team you don't talk about it anymore, or you let it drag on for six months. We had a coffee together the next day. There were no hard feelings . People still can't believe that."