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."