"I was a little too far back on La Redoute" - Tiesj Benoot lamments after mediocre Liege-Bastogne-Liege for Visma

While they are often a force to be reckoned with on cobbles, Team Visma | Lease a Bike was unable to play a large role in any of the major races in Ardennes, a series of Classics that concluded with Liege-Bastogne-Liege today. Tiesj Benoot was the first rider across the line for the yellow-and-black squad, finishing in 13th place.

"I didn’t have a top feeling today, but it certainly wasn’t bad," said Benoot in a press release afterwards. "Positioning was not easy today. On La Redoute I was a little too far back, but I felt better as the race progressed. In the end, I ended up in the third group together with Ben [Tulett] and Attila [Valter]. With that large group, we sprinted for the places of honour, but missed out on another top-ten finish."

Sports director Arthur van Dongen looked back on his riders' performance: "We can look back on a solid race. In the final, we were still represented by three riders in the peloton. Ben delivered a strong performance on La Redoute, where - apart from an unleashed Pogačar - he reached the top with the best. Unfortunately, he just fell short in responding to the duo attack of Ciccone and Healy. We couldn’t compete for the podium, but the guys fought hard once again."