"It were three beautiful weeks", Benoot said about the Tour de France. He led leader Jonas Vingegaard to the finish in Paris with a strong performance. The Tour win meant the start of a hectic week for the Belgian. "On Saturday, after the time trial, we celebrated and went to bed a bit later than usual. The Champs-Élysées was very special, with a nice encore at the Dutch embassy in the evening. It was well beyond midnight before I went to bed. I made up for that lack of sleep the next day."

The day before the final rest day in the Tour, Benoot crashed hard. Nevertheless he could continue on his way and remain of value to his leaders. "I still have some abrasions and some pain in my right hip, but otherwise I don't have any complaints anymore", he indicated shortly before leaving for the Basque Country.

After the festivities in Paris, Benoot took a break. "Tuesday, I rode a criterium and tried to cycle two hours every day. The last days were also about resting and recovering. I have been careful not to do nothing at all. It causes the body to go into sleep mode and I want to avoid that."

In Basque Country, a tough and long race is on the program for Benoot and his teammates. During the 225-kilometre-long classic, the riders must overcome 4,100 altimetres. The course leads the riders over climbs such as the Alto de Azkarate, Alkiza and the Alto de Jaizkibel before arriving at the final climb of the Muriel-Tontorra. After this climb, another lightning-fast descent awaits the riders to San Sebastián.

Team Jumbo-Visma will have to do without Wout van Aert this Saturday. The green jersey winner in Paris is not fit enough to start. It's up to sports director Addy Engels to put the puzzle together. "Before the Tour, we planned to ride with Wout and Jonas. Those are defining riders for the strategy. I still think we have a good team, but we no longer have the top favourite in our team."

Looking at opportunities, the team leader directly points to Benoot. "Tiesj has proven he can handle this race. He has already ridden top ten once. It is a race that suits him. Tiesj is better than when he rode top ten here five years ago, so that provides perspective."

The Belgian of Team Jumbo-Visma backs up his team leader's words. "I will start with ambition. For the past three weeks, I have ridden completely in the service of other riders. That will be different on Saturday. San Sebastian is always a race I like to go to. We ride in a beautiful region and on a beautiful course. If you take good care of yourself after the Tour, you're also good in San Sebastián. I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm glad I get to go for my own chance now. As a rider, it's nice to have that balance, to be able to ride for your own chances sometimes", the Team Jumbo-Visma rider said. The fact that Benoot can turn the confidence of a free role into a good result he showed several times last spring. He secured top results with second place in Dwars door Vlaanderen and third place in the Amstel Gold Race.

How Benoot will cope with the switch from Tour to San Sebastián remains to be seen, he says. "It's hard to set a specific ranking as a goal. For the last three weeks, I have been racing very differently. It depends on how the body feels after the Tour. But I still feel pretty good and I am motivated to race."