"There are several reasons things turned out differently" - Team Visma | Lease a Bike look to justify lack of Classics success in 2025

So often one of the most prominent teams in the Classics over recent seasons, Team Visma | Lease a Bike were a step or two off the pace for much of 2025's Spring. As a result of a quiet Liege-Bastogne-Liege last Sunday, where Tiesj Benoot was the team's highest finisher in 13th, Visma end the spring without a single victory.

In quotes collected by IDLProCycling, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's sports director Arthur van Dongen attempted to justify his team's lack of results over recent weeks. "I don't know if the gap has widened," he begins honestly, noting a few potential reasons for the underperformance. "There are several reasons things turned out differently, such as the absence of Christophe Laporte. That was a big loss."

Undoubtedly, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's main Classics star remains Wout van Aert. Despite consistently being there or thereabouts this Spring though, the Belgian was unable to add another win to his palmares. "Wout van Aert performed at his best, but we mustn't forget what he had to return from," Van Dongen says, noting the horrific year of crashes and bad luck the Belgian suffered throughout 2024. "I don't often look at the UCI Ranking, but he's still fifth. That shows that he's among the best riders in the world."

And although, as mentioned, no Visma riders were victorious in the Classics, Van Dongen has seen some young riders progress this year. Ben Tulett was in the fight for the top-20 throughout the Ardennes and young Matthew Brennan looked strong in support of Van Aert at Paris-Roubaix. This, alongside some positive results outside of the Classics, ensures things aren't all doom and gloom for Visma.

"I've seen several good young riders at work. We win races like Paris-Nice and the Volta ao Algarve. The real highlight for me is Matthew Brennan's performance," concluded the Dutch DS' assessment. "But we consider ourselves a top team, and that means winning. We haven't done that, so we're not satisfied."