Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson and Jan Tratnik in Team Visma | Lease a Bike's E3 Saxo Classic lineup

Team Visma | Lease a Bike are starting the E3 Saxo Classic this Friday as the defending champions after Wout van Aert conquered it last year ahead of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar. The Dutch team is seeking to revalidate it's title, and is lead by the Belgian and a very talented lineup.

Van Aert returns from an altitude training camp in Teide, where he was joined by Jan Tratnik, Tiesj Benoot and Per Strand Hagenes. Tratnik was the winner of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad; he and Wout van Aert won both races at the Opening Weekend where Visma dominated with their big numbers and quality up front. The team will not however be able to count on Christophe Laporte this Friday as the Frenchman is trying to recover from an illness that took him out of Milano-Sanremo.

"Wout has not raced many races yet, but he was strong on the opening weekend," team DS Grischa Niermann said in a press release. "We expect him to come back well from his altitude training. After Paris-Roubaix, we will know if we made the right choice."

The Frenchman will be promptly replaced however by Edoardo Affini who will be doing work early in the race. The lineup is completed by Paris-Nice winner Matteo Jorgenson who is by all means another strong contender for victory on this day; and finally Dylan van Baarle who has also been working on reaching his best form ahead of the monuments.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike for E3 Saxo Classic:

Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, Dylan van Baarle, Per Strand Hagenes, Tiesj Benoot, Jan Tratnik and Edoardo Affini.