Louis van Gaal was a prominent figure at Jumbo-Visma's Tour de France party "he started talking to me in English" - Tiesj Benoot

Jumbo-Visma had a glorious triumph at last year's Tour de France and Tiesj Benoot was part of the victory. The Belgian prepares to tackle it once again, however he's revealed some surprising details about the celebrations last summer.

"At Jumbo-Visma, the Monuments are the big goal, but that was also the case with last year's Tour: we are here to win the Tour, so the Tour wouldn't be successful with just a stage win", Benoot said in an interview with the Vals Plat podcast.

Winning the Tour de France with Jonas Vingegaard would, of course, be celebrated. "After last year's Tour there was a big party at the Dutch embassy. The Prime Minister of Denmark was there, Louis van Gaal was there. That is really a great thing in Dutch circles. Louis did a round, but he started talking to me in English," Benoot laughs.

After strong spring campaign, where Tiesj grabbed Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne along multiple top10 results in biggest classics, Tiesj is now enjoying well-deserved rest. His next schedule is yet to be confirmed, but Tiesj should be lining up to the start of Critérium Dauphiné before Tour de France, where once again, he should ride in full support of his leader & defending champion - Jonas Vingegaard.