Julien Vermote on first days at Visma | Lease a Bike: "I'm not easily impressed anymore, but I am by this team"

Julien Vermote joins Visma | Lease a Bike as the team's late addition, filling up the empty spot left by retiring Lennard Hofstede. The now 34-year-old Belgian didn't find a new team at the end of 2022, but he didn't give up and continued racing the local Belgian races, consistently finishing in top 10s, rocking in the jersey of his self-founded one-man team. He now tells his story at WielerFlits.

"It all happened during the last few days very quickly. My brother and I have always continued to lobby, but most teams are nowadays crazy about youngsters. In that respect, it is necessary that you regularly let them know that you are still there," he continues.

"In October I called Merijn Zeeman myself, but then I was told that there was no room. Until I received a phone call from Maarten Wynants in mid-December, who said that the situation had changed. After that I came into contact with Merijn and Grischa Niermann again. I think it helped me that I had contacted them earlier. They knew my motivation."

"I have to say: I'm not easily impressed anymore, but I am by this team. Of course, I have only been really involved for a few days, but when you see how things are going... Everything is structured in such a way that you quickly understand why they are doing so well in the race. They win the three Grand Tours in one season, they perform numbers with the entire team collectively. You can't ignore that. That's not a coincidence or anything."