"We shouldn't ever go to the sprint again" - After last year's Dwars door Vlaanderen blunder, Visma want to take solo win this time around
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike rode a perfect Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2025, initially, by splitting the peloton and creating a selection with their three strongest riders, alongside Neilson Powless. However, they raced for a Wout Van Aert sprint win and the plan failed miserably. Team DS Grischa Niermann knows the team cannot race like that ever again.
"We're looking forward to racing. I think indeed, we have a very strong team there. Hopefully we can make the race, and we finish it off better than last year," Niermann said in words to Cyclingnews.
The plan might be the same, with Wout Van Aert being joined by Christophe Laporte, Per Strand Hagenes, Matthew Brennan and Edoardo Affini - a very strong lineup that antecedes the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, but should have almost all riders at their best level.
But repeating the same sprint scenario is unthinkable. "We even have, I would say, to play it safer if you get into a situation like that. We shouldn't ever go to the sprint again, because if you arrive solo, you know you've won," he adds, not forgetting the tactical error of 12 months ago.
"We made a big mistake last year, and we took it with us, and we'll certainly not make that same mistake again. But, of course, it could still be that the race ends in the sprint tomorrow, and then we'll go for it, but if we have the opportunity, then it's better when somebody goes solo."
Powless outsprinting Wout Van Aert after Visma performed a lead out in a 3 versus 1
Not repeating a big mistake
On that day, Visma was trying to help Wout Van Aert into a motivation-inducing triumph. For that reason, the team did not attack Neilson Powless on the three versus one scenario; and instead Matteo Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot both paced and led out the Belgian.
Only in a two-up sprint, a leadout doesn't matter to much, the legs do, and the Belgian did not have them. The blunder cost what was a certain win otherwise, and saw Visma finish second, third and fourth out of a group of four. It is a day that rang bells all over the cycling world and is strongly reminded to Niermann into the race once again, to which he knew he had to respond.
"I think for you journalists, that it's a big thing, because we are going to do the Dwars door Vlaanderen again. But for us, it's been a year, we had some learnings from there; It didn't go well, and we went on from that, but it's not something that I need to highlight now today," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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