"Up until the Plateau de Beille, we really thought we could win the Tour" - Tiesj Benoot confides the breaking point of this Tour was stage 15

As one of the few Visma | Lease a Bike riders who escaped the spring (severely) unharmed, Tiesj Benoot could only watch his teammates fight on their way to recover in time for the Tour de France. And after all the poor luck, the second place of Jonas Vingegaard feels like a small victory for the Dutch formation.

In his evaluation of the race, Benoot needs to be realistic: "We were of course hoping to win another Tour de France, but we were beaten by a rider and a team who were better this year," Benoot admitted defeat to media after the last stage, "and so we have to be happy with this second place, especially with the preparation experienced by Jonas and Wout, as well as the team's bad luck. It's a positive result."

"I think I would have signed if I had been told before the start that Jonas was going to finish second. Up until the Plateau de Beille, we really thought we could win the Tour. We tried that day, but it didn't work. We gave it our all, we didn't make any tactical mistakes in my opinion, we always had a plan," continues the 30-year-old Belgian.

Like many, Benoot is still a bit shocked by the performances of his leader. Especially after his injuries "It's incredible what he did, I'm really surprised. Those two weeks in hospital in April, it wasn't a story invented by the team (smiles) and I don't know anyone who can do that, namely finish second in a Tour de France after what he's been through."