"Johannes Staune-Mittet says he wants to become the best rider in the world" - Team Visma | Lease a Bike look to youngsters to replace Primoz Roglic

With Primoz Roglic departing for BORA - hansgrohe, Team Visma | Lease a Bike have been left with a notable vacancy at the top of their roster. Instead of making a star signing, the team is instead looking to its youth to fill the void.

Among the next generation of riders that the team sees as hopefully being able to take the next step is Norwegian talent, Johannes Staune-Mittet. "With him, we don't immediately think about winning, but rather developing, supporting and learning from the big boys," analyses head of youth development Robbert de Groot in conversation with Sporza. "Before he could think about a classification, his time trial really needs to be tinkered with."

Clearly not the finished article just yet, but at 21 years old (22 on January 18th ed.), that's hardly surprising. Nevertheless, the raw talent of Staune-Mittet has impressed de Groot, as has the former Giro Next Gen winner's immense drive to improve.

"That Johannes can cross a mountain well is obvious. But the is level is so outrageously high in our team, but certainly in other teams as well, that you can't just say Johannes will just perform this or that," he explains. "Johannes says he wants to become the best rider in the world. But many boys of that age want that. Usually they come home with a cold shoulder. I like the fact that he at least wants to make an effort. It's a good mindset and we will see in a few years whether he has succeeded."