Grischa Niermann (Visma | Lease a Bike) honest after Strade Bianche: "We were expecting more"

A tenth place in Strade Bianche, that's what Visma | Lease a Bike had to settle for one week after the very successful Opening Weekend. Christophe Laporte managed to secure a spot on the first race sheet for the team, after they had to rectify several tricky situations along the way.

Sepp Kuss was in the front row for the Dutch team when Pogacar launched his attack, but couldn't keep up with the Slovenian. Eventually, the team, including Laporte, Attila Valter, and Ben Tulett, ended up in the first group behind Pogacar, but the climbers had to work hard to rectify a skewed situation with a leading group. This effort cost them dearly on the next gravel sector, although Valter managed to reconnect several times. The Hungarian, who finished fourth last year, ultimately came in nineteenth in this edition of the gravel race in Tuscany.

Visma | Lease a Bike not strong enough in Strade Bianche

Team director Grischa Niermann reflects. "This is not what we came here for, in terms of results," said the director, who, like Maarten Wynants, did the reconnaissance with the riders. "I think we were not good enough. Christophe rode a very impressive race and finished tenth, which actually puts him among a whole bunch of climbers. He did a great job," he compliments the strong Frenchman, who will also be the team leader in Milan-San Remo in two weeks.

'We were expecting more,' concludes Niermann. "But the guys were not strong enough. It wasn't the conditions either. This is an extremely tough race, and it doesn't matter whether it's wet or dry. The fact that the course has been made longer does make it even harder. But I think it was very clear that the best rider won," the German refers to Pogacar.