"He's an explosive rider, a rider who knows the roads and a real racer" - Wout van Aert believes new Visma signing could make key difference at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Later this afternoon, Spring Classics season gets underway for 2025 with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. One of the standout teams on the start line are Team Visma | Lease a Bike, who with Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson can boast two genuine contenders for the win, both of whom seemed optimistic in their pre-race interviews.

Speaking to the media ahead of the race, Van Aert sounded ready. "I'm excited! It's always a special day," he tells Eurosport. "The nerves start quite early, but then you come to this presentation and this is maybe the best presentation of the year. So yeah, I'm really pumped now."

As mentioned, Visma start the Omloop with multiple different options. "That's always a good thing," Van Aert notes with a smile, noting in particular the team's new signing Victor Campenaerts. "He's an explosive rider, a rider who knows the roads and a real racer. He really wants to go for it and that's the kind of rider you want in the Classics."

As for his own chances? "I felt good by the end of Algarve, so I took confidence from that last time trial," Van Aert assesses. "But yeah, this is completely different so we'll see. This is almost a new discipline, but in previous years it went well straight away from the beginning so that is also what I hope for today."

One of the other contenders Visma can boast is of course, Matteo Jorgenson. The American too was excited to get underway in his season opener. "I'm ecstatic. I'm really excited to be here in this special place, and yeah, I'm ready to get going," he declares with a smile. "The team has prepared well and we know what's at stake, for sure. I think we have the strongest team and you get a lot of energy from being on the strongest team, being able to control the race."