There was the impressive one-two punch by Jørgen Nordhagen and Menno Huising at the Coppa Città di San Daniele, the stunning overall win by Darren van Bekkum at the Ronde de l’Isard following a remarkable display of resilience from the entire team, and the spectacular stage victory by Matthew Brennan at the Giro d’Italia Next Gen, executed through the efforts of the whole squad. Yet the standout victory for Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development came at an even higher level. Olav Kooij became the first homegrown rider to secure a stage win in a Grand Tour: stage 9 in the Giro d’Italia.

"That’s wonderful, of course, and it’s why we do what we do,” said Head of Development Robbert de Groot. “Sports directors Sierk-Jan de Haan, Robert Wagner, and I cheered hard for that victory. It proves that riders who come up through our ranks truly get the chance to develop all the way to the highest level.” Kooij’s victory makes the work that De Groot and his colleagues do – focused primarily on the long term – tangible.

Surprising Brennan

Kooij was part of the first cohort of riders in the development team, marking 2024 as the program’s fifth season. “Overall, we can only be pleased,” reflects De Groot. “With Jørgen Nordhagen, Tijmen Graat, Menno Huising, and Matthew Brennan, we’re promoting four riders to our own WorldTeam, which is fantastic. And with Darren van Bekkum, even a fifth rider is making the leap to the WorldTour. That’s part of talent development too: sometimes other teams benefit from our hard work.”

De Groot is confident that Nordhagen, Brennan, Graat, and Huising will also stand their ground at the higher level. “Menno and Tijmen proved last year that they deserve to step up to the WorldTour and clearly showed progress. Jørgen has confirmed that he’s the great talent we see in him. And I have to say, Matthew really surprised us. We knew he was a huge talent, but what he showed from start to finish this season was truly impressive.”

In addition to these four, De Groot praises the way Van Bekkum has distinguished himself throughout the season, as well as the progress made by Dario Belletta and Pietro Mattio. “And honestly, I could mention all of our riders, since Tomos Pattinson also showed great promise. It’s a shame for Jed Smithson that he had so much bad luck.”

Getting a taste of the WorldTour

On the under-23 circuit, Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development proved to be among the strongest development teams in the world. However, the riders also regularly showcased their talent in joint races with the WorldTeam. Huising and Graat started the season alongside Jonas Vingegaard at O Gran Camiño, while Brennan quickly moved up to the .1 level after his double win in Croatia, finishing third in the Circuit de Wallonie. Nordhagen finished in the top ten of the general classification at the Deutschland Rundfahrt, a .Pro race one level higher.

“The right race calendar is crucial for our riders’ development,” says De Groot. “With the five riders now heading to the WorldTour, alongside Jesse Kramer, Morten Nørtoft, and Colby Simmons, we had a strong squad this year ready for a more challenging program with .1 and .Pro level races, often in collaboration with WorldTeam riders. These are valuable and educational moments for our young talents. Next season, we’ll have many new, younger riders who aren’t all ready for races at that level yet, so our program may look a bit different.”

Long-term vision

Speaking of young riders, 2024 was also the first year of intensive collaboration between Team Visma | Lease a Bike and the junior team at JEGG DJR Academy. “With Patryk Goszczurny and Ian Kings, two riders are directly moving up from that junior team to our development team,” says De Groot. “But we have to be honest and say that this first year has primarily been a learning year. We’re now focused on incorporating the lessons learned over the past year. Overall, adding a junior team to our development pipeline has been a step in the right direction and one that will benefit us in the long term.”

For as impressive as the victories at junior or under-23 level may be, Team Visma | Lease a Bike Development is a project with a long-term vision. The main goal is not to win but to develop. “It’s a project in a constantly evolving landscape,” concludes De Groot. “That’s what makes this work so challenging. Just like our riders, we as a team are constantly striving to improve.”