"The riders and team management are simply convinced of their own qualities" - Nathan Van Hooydonck on Team Visma | Lease a Bike's secret to success

'Opening Weekend' of the 2024 Classics season unquestionably belonged to Team Visma | Lease a Bike after a hat-trick of successes through Jan Tratnik, Marianne Vos and Wout van Aert.

One man who was watching the action unfold at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, was the recently retired, former Team Visma | Lease a Bike star, Nathan Van Hooydonck. Whilst he'd probably have wished to have been in-and-amongst the racing, the Belgian delightedly watched the victories roll in for his former employers. “As a rider of that team, I was able to experience that myself," he says on the Wuyts & Vlaeminck podcast for HLN.

But just what is the secret to Team Visma | Lease a Bike's continued success? Van Hooydonck can give some kind of insight into that. "Within that team they simply take little or no account of the opposition," he explains. "It's not like we're laughing at the other teams. That's the biggest mistake you can make. The riders and team management are simply convinced of their own qualities.”

“A certain tactic is explained for each race,” Van Hooydonck continues. “If the riders believe in it, that tactic will be followed 100 percent. It's that simple. Of course, you also have to have the riders to carry out everything down to the last detail. It is also not the case that there are 50 scenarios ready for each race. You just have to know what to expect from each other for every race.”