"Roglic had nothing to lose" - Benoot blasts former teammate for not aiding Wout Van Aert at 2020 World Championships
CyclingThursday, 24 September 2026 at 17:40
At the World Championships, the stakes are higher than ever. Tiesj Benoot, road captain at the Belgian team, speaks about his role in team; criticizes the lack of race radios and also the 2020 edition where he was puzzled by Primoz Roglic's tactics alongside teammate Wout Van Aert.
Benoot has had a roller-coaster year. A back hernia kept him off the peloton all the way up to June, in a winter where he changed teams. Part of Visma from 2022 to 2025, he was a teammate and strong friend for Wout Van Aert. Over the years the duo have raced together on countless occasions, and have targeted similar races.
At the World Championships, they have also raced together on multiple occasions. The dynamics are always unique with some teams having a more block-like tactic, whilst others have many riders with freedom to pursue their own individual results. In Belgium it has often been hard to manage egos, but that isn't an issue leading into Montréal.
“I’ve experienced plenty of championships where the multiple-leader system was a success. Like at the Paris Games,” Benoot argued in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. “And here in Montréal, too, I believe it can work one hundred per cent. It makes us more unpredictable for the competition".
Benoot is racing in the colours of Belgium, and only for Belgium's goals. He is part of the Decathlon team, and during the Tour de France had a key support role for Paul Seixas who will be one of the main favourites for this Sunday's race. But if he has to work against his Decathlon teammate, he will.
Tiesj Benoot backs up Wout Van Aert to win Montréal World Championships
“Then I’ll do it, they know that at Decathlon. But honestly, I find it hard to imagine that scenario. That would mean Paul blasts away without Remco or Wout being there, while I’m still with our team leaders. Seems unlikely to me.”
Asked to guess a winner for the men's elite road race, Benoot went for his former teammate: “I’m going to say Wout van Aert. Remco definitely has a chance too, of course".
But the personal side comes into play for the 32-year old. "I’d love to see Wout win. And it’s possible. I’m convinced that winning Roubaix unlocked something in him.”
Tiesj Benoot, the road captain
Not only due to the teammate dynamics, the world championships provide almost unique scenarios due to one small but key difference when comparing to a regular race: The lack of race radios.
“I think it’s ridiculous. We have radios at the GP Montréal, but suddenly not at the World Championships, on the exact same course". Benoot is no stranger to such type of racing, and argues that it adds chaos into an already often chaotic race.
From a rider's point of views, specially from one of the leading teams, Benoot shares how racing without a radio can affect a race - and often lead to decisions that spectators can not logically understand.
“Yes, it’s difficult. I experienced it at the Paris Games: sometimes you simply don’t know who’s up front. Should you chase or not? By the time you’ve gone back to ask the team car, the leaders already have a minute’s advantage. It makes the road captain’s role at the World Championships even more crucial. You really have to keep an eye on everything.”
Read also
Benoot critical of Primoz Roglic
The conversation revolved around past outings with the national team, and later landed on the 2020 World Championships. That year, Julian Alaphilippe took his first world title in Imola, making the difference on the steep climbs. Wout Van Aert finished second, winning the sprint in a small group behind, where he had Visma teammate Primoz Roglic with him.
Benoot remains astounded that on that day, Primoz Roglic was not collaborative in the chasing group that looked to track down Alaphilippe. “Roglic had nothing to lose. It wasn't as if he had to chase down a compatriot; the rider in question was French".
Benoot was certainly not soft in his words. In 2022 and 2023 the two would share a home at Visma - and his remarks towards the Slovenian were far from positive.
"I know Primoz a bit better now. I can't recall ever seeing him take the lead at the World Championships—not even for Pogacar. It’s in his DNA.”
The moment certainly left a bad taste for Benoot as the weeks prior, Van Aert had extensively worked for Roglic and the team to close in on a Tour de France win - which would be lost on the final competitive day at the infamous Planche des Belles Filles time trial.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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