Tiesj Benoot shrugs off talk about rumoured Visma exit: “My contract is up at the end of the season, but right now I’m focused on racing well in Liège"

Tiesj Benoot has been an incredibly consistent figure for Team Visma | Lease a Bike in the Spring Classics over recent years, with 2025 being no different. Ahead of the Ardennes ending Liege-Bastogne-Liege this Sunday afternoon however, the talk surrounding Benoot isn't so much about the race, but rather his rumoured exit from the team at the end of the year.

As reported by Wielerflits earlier this week, Benoot has supposedly been approached with a very lucrative offer from the French-based Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team. In a pre-race interview with Sporza ahead of Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2025, Benoot was asked about these transfer rumours, although the Belgian did his best to keep such talk to a minimum. 

“They write it, and everyone runs with it. That’s journalism these days. But it doesn’t bother me,” the 31-year-old shrugs, although he doesn't completely deny the truth to the speculation. “Rumours are there to be ignored, but of course there are conversations.”

It's clear though, that Benoot is focused primarily on on-bike matters for the moment. “My contract is up at the end of the season, but right now I’m focused on racing well in Liège. All my attention is on the classics,” he concludes firmly. “I’ll sit down with my manager next week to look at what the future holds, and we’ll communicate everything at the right time.”