"They will continue that dominance in the stage races where Jonas Vingegaard starts" - Jan Bakelants sees it hard to stop Team Visma | Lease a Bike

Last weekend fell completely to Team Visma | Lease a Bike with victories at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne and Gran Camino.

Reflecting on the action via the Wielerclub Wattage podcast, ex-pros Jan Bakelants and Tom Boonen were understandably impressed. "I think they will soon be less dominant in, say, Strade Bianche and Milano-Sanremo. In those races you also have UAE Team Emirates, the same control as in the opening races is actually not possible," Bakelants says, although he sees a different prospect in the upcoming stage races. 

Notably, the upcoming stage races at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Itzulia Basque Country will be similarly dominated by Team Visma | Lease a Bike believes Bakelants. "I think in particular that they will continue that dominance in the stage races, if Jonas Vingegaard starts," the Belgian explains. 

The man Boonen and Bakelants consider the 'man of the weekend' however, is not a Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider. Instead, they opt for UAE Tour winner, Lennert Van Eetvelt. "Definitely the man of the weekend. What he showed is better than winning Kuurne. When you win a race like that against such names, great class, and on the final day. It is not his first feat this year," they say, praising the Lotto Dstny star.

This also shows a growing change in intention for the younger generation of Belgian cyclists say Boonen and Bakelants. "Nowadays we have more men for the mountains than for the classics," they conclude. "Van Eetvelt should be able to score stages without a time trial and who knows, maybe in the Vuelta."