With Matthew Brennan and Christophe Laporte, Team Visma | Lease a Bike lines up with two riders who have already taken a victory this season. “We will have a strong team at the start in Ghent on Saturday, with multiple cards to play”, Niermann said during the traditional press conference ahead of the Belgian opening weekend.

Brennan echoed Niermann’s confidence: “I’m feeling strong, and that win in Australia gave me a lot of confidence heading into the classics season. We have set some ambitious but exciting goals for this spring, starting with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. Racing it last year was a great experience. Not just on the bike, but everything around it as well. Last year was really about development for me. Hopefully that will pay off this spring.”

In recent years, Team Visma | Lease a Bike has enjoyed major success during the Flemish opening weekend. The team won three of the last four editions of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with Wout van Aert, Dylan van Baarle, and Jan Tratnik. Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne was won in 2023 and 2024 by Tiesj Benoot and Van Aert. Last year, however, Niermann’s squad faced more difficulties.

“Our positioning wasn’t good enough at the key moments”, Niermann explains. “We have learned from that, and this year we need to race more aggressively and show ourselves at the front. A key factor in that will be Christophe Laporte. Time and again, he has proven that he is always there in the finale of the classics.”

Laporte left the Ruta del Sol last week after crashing in the final stage. “He has recovered from that now”, Niermann continues. “Christophe missed the entire spring campaign last year and is highly motivated to be there this time. We hope he will be one of our riders in the finale on Saturday. We need to make sure there’s plenty of yellow and black visible at the decisive moments.”

Brennan is expected to play an important role as well. “If the race comes down to a sprint, Matthew is our designated finisher”, Niermann says. Brennan adds: “I hope to fight for a strong result on both days this weekend. Saturday will be a tough race with a strong field. Ideally, we want multiple riders in the finale, that’s the best scenario for us.”

Team Visma | Lease a Bike will have to do without Wout van Aert at the Flemish season opener. The 2022 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner is ill. “Obviously it’s a big blow for me to miss out on my first race, having prepared for the classics season the whole winter”, the Belgian said when his withdrawal was announced.

“We had a good training camp at Sierra Nevada and I was feeling really strong. But unfortunately, it’s also that time of the year where it’s easy to fall ill. I remain positive about the feeling I had on training and am confident that I will be able to return to racing soon. Just not this Saturday.”

Van Aert’s absence is a significant loss for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, but Niermann put things into perspective. “It’s very unfortunate, but these things happen. The timing isn’t ideal with the classics season starting. Of course, Omloop is a fantastic race, but there are even bigger objectives ahead for Wout.”

Squad Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (28-02): Edoardo Affini, Matthew Brennan, Per Strand Hagenes, Timo Kielich, Christophe Laporte, Pietro Mattio and Axel Zingle.

Squad Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (01-03): Matthew Brennan, Filippo Fiorelli, Timo Kielich, Christophe Laporte, Pietro Mattio, Matisse Van Kerckhove and Axel Zingle.