Christophe Laporte: "I’ve learnt a lot from Wout because he is one of the best riders in the world"

Jumbo-Visma have had a striking year, and perhaps a big part of that were their signings of Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot who not only were instrumental for the team's Tour de France win, but both have shown their absolute best form throughout the spring and worked towards several wins and high-end results.

“I’ve learnt a lot from Wout because he is one of the best riders in the world," the Frenchman told Cyclingnews and Velonews in a recent interview. “He is also very open to other riders doing well, even in the Classics. If you attack and get away, he’s happy for you and lets you race. You always want to race with leaders like that and I want to be up there to help him too."

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Laporte had consolidated himself as a strong classics rider at Cofidis, however it was a whole other level at Jumbo-Visma. He rode to second (only behind teammate van Aert) at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic, and again second at Gent-Wevelgem behind Biniam Girmay. His victories at the Tour de France, Tour of Denmark, Binche-Chimay-Binche and second at the World Championships further proved his talent in the hilly races however.

“We showed this year that it’s better to have the numbers up front in the big Classic when the race really explodes. We can play with our rivals, like QuickStep did in the past. It worked out very well for us this year," he explained. Although Wout van Aert had to skip Tour des Flandres, the Dutch team was a major factor in every single big cobbled classic this spring.

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However, after two second places, Laporte is ambitious towards 2023: “I want to win a Classic," he says. "I was close this year but I didn't win. I’ve already achieved my other goal by winning a stage at the Tour, so I’d like to win a Classic too."

If he keeps the same form he's shown in 2022, where he's had great success despite a largely supportive role, that could come, as soon as the opening weekend. However he eyes a specific day: “If I have a choice I’d like to win Paris-Roubaix. I know that Wout starts Paris-Roubaix as our team leader. That’s logical and right but I have to be ready to take my opportunities."

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A Frenchman, Laporte will be guided towards Roubaix. Although it is not confirmed if he was present, several Jumbo-Visma riders have recently done a recon of the cobbles already, testing new material and a block which is likely to race together throughout the spring. 

"Paris-Roubaix is a very open race, anything can happen and it is hard to control. Who knows, perhaps I’ll get my chance. The biggest thing I’ve learnt at Jumbo-Visma is not to limit my ambitions," he concluded.