Tiesj Benoot receives a lucrative offer from a French team

Tiesj Benoot has been the core of Visma | Lease a Bike's Classics lineup for a while now. But his current contract will run out at the end of this season which is an opportunity for another team to add the experienced 31-year-old to their ranks from 2026 onwards.

And is it turns out, one big player on transfer market had already approached Benoot with what is reported by WielerFlits as a dream offer. The team in question which has shown imminent interest in the Belgian is apparently the French WorldTour formation Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. Benoot is being offered a three-year contract that would see him stay with Decathlon through 2028, it sounds.

Quite a few teams would love to sign the man who rarely finishes outside the top-20 in one-day races, however the offer of Decathlon AG2R seems to have been the best by far. With INEOS Grenadiers as one of many other contenders for Benoot's services, it's clear that there must be more than just money on the line.

It's also a logical decision for Decathlon, who has strong ties to Northern France and therefore also Belgium. In case Benoot would indeed sign with the French team, he'd unite with compatriots Stan Dewulf, Oliver Naesen and Gianluca Pollefliet.