Dutch and Belgian press hail Jumbo-Visma's unprecedented run of success - "Jumbo is slowly starting to make it a trademark"

Jumbo Visma had a remarkable performance at Gent-Wevelgem, with Wout van Aert selflessly giving the win to his teammate Christophe Laporte, leading to diverse reactions. The Belgian and Dutch press are extensively covering the team's success.

“It is looking more and more like only Mathieu van der Poel can stop Jumbo-Visma,” De Telegraaf wrote in the headline. It further read, “Van Aert will desperately need Laporte - but also Van Baarle, Benoot and the rest of the team - to keep Van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar off him in De Ronde. After Friday's E3 Classic clearly showed that no one is capable of following this super trio when the accelerator is fully depressed, Jumbo-Visma will probably try another way to keep MvdP and Pogi behind them.”

Algemeen Dagblad highlights the exceptional performance of the Dutch cycling team, who have secured victories in several races such as Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, the E3, and Gent-Wevelgem. “Unprecedented scenes for races at this level. Although Jumbo is slowly starting to make it a trademark,” it wrote in the article.

The Belgian newspaper shared a similar view, but their coverage was more centred on Van Aert than his team. “As the epitome of sportsmanship, it can count, giving away a win in a top-class classic to a teammate. Because there is no doubt: Van Aert was the best between Gent and Wevelgem - the Kemmelberg never lies,” writes Het Laatste Nieuws.

“The most punishing thing of all is that you almost start to find it logical,” finally writes Het Nieuwsblad. It continues, “No Van der Poel and Pogacar at the start, and so Jumbo-Visma can grab overall power again. Two days after the collective supremacy in the E3 had briefly waned, the rant about the not-so-invulnerable Jumbo-Visma may already end.”

While they acknowledged the Belgian's performance, they also had some doubts about whether it was fair for him to gift the victory. “You might even find that questionable - and not unjustifiably so. After all, as the strongest rider in the race, is it really that smart to just give away a race like Gent-Wevelgem? All very generous and kind, but aren't you taking your palmares very lightly? But it does say everything about the strength of the collective and the overwhelming dominance of Jumbo-Visma: that in a one-two punch you can and may decide who crosses the line first.”