Tiesj Benoot admits toughest part of leaving Visma was saying goodbye to Wout van Aert: “It was nice to have a good friend on the team — That’s something I’ll miss”

Tiesj Benoot may have signed a major three-year deal with the ambitious Decathlon CMA CGM Team, but the Belgian admits the emotional cost of leaving Team Visma | Lease a Bike still weighs heavily — especially when it comes to one person.

The 31-year-old had been a cornerstone of the Dutch squad for four seasons, playing crucial roles across the Classics and at the Tour de France. Yet the toughest part of his summer wasn’t the decision to join a growing project at Decathlon; it was stepping away from the teammate he bonded with more than any other: Wout van Aert.

Speaking to Domestique, Benoot didn’t hide the personal side of the move. Despite being ready for a new challenge, he knows that shifting teams means losing the everyday normality of life alongside his compatriot. “Wout’s win in Calais is one of my nicest memories from the team, but in the end, it was just nice to have a good friend on the team,” he said. “That’s something I’ll miss, but it’s not the end of the world – we’re just on different teams.”

The pair were inseparable during their years together: long altitude camps, shared leadership roles in Spring, and full-gas Tour de France shifts in service of Jonas Vingegaard. Benoot was more than a luxury domestique — he became Van Aert’s sounding board, climbing partner and, by his own admission, one of his closest friends in the peloton.

Even stepping away from Visma itself wasn’t straightforward. Benoot reveals he never felt pushed out, never felt undervalued, and never had a falling-out — making the decision strangely painful.

“It was for sure difficult to leave Visma, because I didn’t have a real reason to leave,” he said. “I was happy there, and I was a proud member of the team for four years. But in the end, I had to make a choice… It just felt like a good moment to step out of my comfort zone again.”

That honesty underscores the move: not a break, not a reaction, but a calculated gamble that the next phase of his career should come with renewed responsibility and fresh surroundings.

The Belgian speaks glowingly about his first impressions of his new environment. Meetings, testing days and early contacts have reassured him that he’s joining a project with momentum and ambition. But the one thing a new camp cannot replicate is the comfort of a friendship built over years of shared pressure.

“It’s really special to see how popular he is… but it’s something I wouldn’t want to have to cope with,” Benoot admitted, reflecting on the intense spotlight Van Aert carries. It’s admiration, tinged with respect — and relief — but also a recognition that he’ll no longer be part of that inner circle.

For a rider as steady and grounded as Benoot, the move to Decathlon represents professional evolution. Yet behind the transfer headlines is a quieter truth: leaving Visma wasn’t just a sporting decision, it was a personal one. And the distance from a teammate who became a genuine friend is the part he admits hits hardest.