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.