"Ready for a new challenge" - Dylan van Baarle races final Grand Tour for Visma as he sets to go back to full-on classics vision with Quick-Step

After a brilliant stint with INEOS Grenadiers where he was one of the very best classics riders in the world, Dylan van Baarle had a tough time with Team Visma | Lease a Bike heavily marked by injuries. Next year he moves to Soudal - Quick-Step to try and become a leader in the cobbled classics once again, but before he will have a support role for Jonas Vingegaard at a Vuelta a España where the team has winning ambitions.

But this is a collective goal, and the Dutchman won't necessarily have much freedom to do it for himself. “No, I have no ambition to chase a result for myself. That’s not what I’m here for," van Baarle shared with Domestique. "We’re starting with a strong team and we want to fight for the overall victory, the highest possible.”

Van Baarle assisted Simon Yates to the Giro victory earlier this year, and ultimately his time with Visma has been more marked by his domestique work in the Grand Tours, where his rouleur and climbing abilities made him an ever-valuable asset for the likes of Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and more.

But next year onwards, he will be able to focus on his own results once again. “I was probably ready for a new challenge. And I’m really looking forward to it. Quick-Step really wants to focus on the classics again. That was the deciding factor. Of course, it’s also a true classics team by nature, and it’s great to be part of it soon.”

He laments his time with Visma ending this way, not having fulfilled the potential that he had when coming into the team. But that was not fully on his shoulders. Only between June of 2024 and January 2025 he suffered three crashes each leading to fractures that took him out of competition but above all constantly disrupted his training.

Ultimately consistency and evolution were not possible for the veteran. “It didn’t turn out the way we’d hoped, no. Due to various circumstances. Due to a lot of injuries that I had to recover from. In that respect, these haven’t been my best three years. But I have to try to put it aside and go into this Vuelta with confidence.”

“It was mentally tough. Three injuries like that in a row is just a bit too much. You’re back in the same boat. Everyone around you is only getting better at the start of the season, while you’re falling behind. That was the main difficulty. I think I underestimated the impact of those injuries a bit, fitness-wise," he concluded.