The absence of Laporte is definitely felt by Visma as well, despite the abundance of star power the team have to call upon, the Frenchman has, as mentioned, proved himself as a key cog in the Classics lineup. "It is a shame, because he is an important pawn," Niermann assesses. "Let's hope we don't have to miss him the entire spring."
In theory at least, Laporte is supposed to open his season at
Milano-Sanremo later this month. Even this is by no means certain though. "Yes, it's all getting closer of course. If he can't train for much longer, it will be difficult. We don't get anything out of him if he only puts up a shirt number. He also has to be in order, and to be honest, it doesn't look like that at the moment," Niermann concludes. "But if anyone can get well quickly, it's Christophe."