"We were confident that he would not be beaten by his escape companions" - Visma | Lease a Bike DS was never in doubts over Wout Van Aert's victory at K-B-K

Sports director Arthur van Dongen can look back on the opening weekend with satisfaction. Visma | Lease a Bike scored two out of two with Jan Tratnik on Saturday and Wout Van Aert on Sunday's Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne.

Van Aert took off to a 90-kilometer breakaway with Tim Wellens and Oier Lazkano to be never caught again. "We rode a great race, Wout was super strong and finished it neatly," he said to WielerFlits after the 1.Pro race.

"The boys he was riding with said that he pushed hard on the cobblestone climb and made the difference there. He had good breakaway companions. With the wind at our backs it sometimes felt like a team time trial," said the Dutchman.

That Visma | Lease a Bike would choose Van Aert's card was never the question. "He was racing hard on the Côte de Trieu. We were confident that he would not be beaten by his escape companions. We were confident in the car," he continued.

Can things be better for the Dutch formation? "It can always be better. For example, you see that Tiesj Benoot is struggling. That's because he fell in Algarve, so there is also an apparent reason for that. That's going to be fine. Of course we have to stay sharp," says Van Dongen.