"He may even talk down specialists on a certain subject" - Tiesj Benoot about his smartest teammate

Tiesj Benoot belongs among the more experienced men in the peloton. Over those 10 years as a pro he has met various riders. Among all the personalities he had the opportunity to work with, who stood out to him as the smartest?  

"There are definitely two that stand out: Michael Storer, my ex-teammate at Sunweb and – although I don’t want to give him too much credit – Victor Campenaerts (laughs)," Benoot names in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad.

"Storer is a special Australian with an Italian girlfriend. He started reading Italian books fairly early on. It’s not easy reading in another language. He’s also vegan, but apparently it’s a flexible concept. Our chef once made wraps with salmon and Michael immediately had one too. 'What, you’re vegan, aren’t you?' we said. 'Yeah, that’s right, but I like salmon.' We all burst out laughing of course."

Is his teammate such a genius as well? "I have to watch what I say because we share a room here on the Sierra Nevada. Otherwise he might start to float, you know," Benoot winks. "Victor is anything but mainstream, he can think out of the box really well. Put him with a few specialists on a certain subject and there’s a chance he’ll talk them down."

"What did he say? That I once told him that he has a good sense of when to attack in a race. So funny. I did once say that I admire his uncalculated, and also a bit stupid way of racing. Stupid as a compliment then, having the gift – let’s say – of just letting go of everything and going for it. That mentality has already brought him quite a bit. I think he’s already told a hundred people that I said that to him. It’s becoming a running joke."