"We were missing the necessary riders" - Team Visma | Lease a Bike DS reflects on performances this spring

Whilst Tiesj Benoot performed admirably with the weight of Team Visma | Lease a Bike, race winners have been hard to come by this Classics season for the team since Wout van Aert's crash, as sports director Arthur van Dongen reflects.

"Of course, we started very well in the Opening Weekend. It's been a long time, but we did win the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. After that, we won Dwars door Vlaanderen," van Dongen reflects in conversation with Wielerflits. "In the classics after that, we tried to play a role. We showed with a few young talents that we can face the future with confidence. Johannes Staune-Mittet, the Van Dijke brothers and Per Strand Hagenes I think picked that up very well."

"Of course we were also missing the necessary riders, so we would have liked to put more stamps on the course and win more," the sports director continues, referring to the absences of Wout van Aert, Dylan van Baarle and Christophe Laporte at times over the past few months. "But last week we also rode a very good Amstel."

As mentioned, over the last few weeks, Tiesj Benoot has been the bright light of the team. "Tiesj did just ride a good race," van Dongen reflects of his riders 12th placed finish at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. "Although, he was alone in that group of 30 men at the end. That was insufficient, we should have had more people with him. Then maybe we could have guided Tiesj to a top-ten, which I think he deserved. But unfortunately that wasn't in the cards."

"If you see that initially we had also drafted Wout van Aert in the Amstel and the like, we might convert some things in the future. But that's all still very far away," van Dongen concludes. "I am confident that in the future we will also be strong enough in these races, with Matteo Jorgenson as well. There are definitely enough good riders in the team for this work."