Campenaerts hopes to play a key role again in Grand Tours for Vingegaard
Victor Campenaerts returned to Team Visma | Lease a Bike last year and immediately proved to be an important asset for the squad. His highlight came at the Tour de France, where he played a crucial role in Jonas Vingegaard’s podium finish. This year, the Belgian powerful rider hopes to be of significant value to the team once again.
“I was really happy to return to the team,” the Belgian reflects. “When I left the team on good terms in 2017, I stayed in touch with my former coach, Mathieu Heijboer. When my ambitions changed and I wanted to be part of a team competing for victory in a Grand Tour, I reached out to him, and from that moment on, everything went smoothly.”
Even though Campenaerts already had a history with the Dutch squad, it took some getting used to. “I knew almost all the staff from my previous time with the team, but most of the riders were new to me. Spending a lot of time together and winning Paris-Nice with roughly the same lineup as in the Tour de France helped me integrate quickly, and by the time the Tour came around, I felt completely at home.”
For the 34-year-old rider, the Tour de France was also the highlight of his season. “On stage four, I realized I was really in top form. Head of Racing Grischa Niermann told me that morning to take the lead at a tricky point in the finale and make a selection in the peloton. I managed to do that, which gave me an enormous confidence boost.”
But it wasn’t just his own performance that made Campenaerts proud: “It was also fantastic to ride in a team where everyone fulfilled their roles so well. There’s an incredible feeling in riding as a unit and knowing you have the race under control. I can enjoy that fully in the moment. It’s simply amazing to be able to support someone like Jonas Vingegaard in the biggest races in the world.”
"It’s simply amazing to be able to support someone like Jonas Vingegaard"
“I think my performances surprised a lot of people, but above all, they surprised me,” Campenaerts reflects on last season. “I never expected I could perform so well on the climbs. Of course, I had trained hard and was in great shape, but the main reason I did so well was the trust the team gave me. That provides so much motivation to push past the pain barrier and keep going.”
With his performances in mind, the Belgian rider hopes to be of major value again this season. “I’ll be riding the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, aiming to support Jonas and the team as best as I can. I’ve never completed this combination before, and it will be an exciting challenge, but I believe that with the right preparation, I can show my best in both Grand Tours,” concludes Campenaerts.
