Laporte aims for a Monument victory; Benoot believes Visma’s spring squad —if fit— is stronger than ever

The 2024 spring classics season is one Christophe Laporte would rather forget. Illness, injuries, crashes and surgeries made it so his favorite part of the year went up in flames. But in 2025, the Visma | Lease a Bike rider is determined to get his revenge. Tiesj Benoot is also eager for the season, expressing a strong desire to race alongside the A-team.

“There are definitely moments to be satisfied about,” Laporte reflected on his 2024 season in an interview with DirectVelo. “Even though I wasn’t able to compete in the Classics last year, those races mean a lot to me. For now, everything is going well, and my preparation has gone smoothly so far. I had a little back pain, but nothing serious—maybe my age is starting to show a bit,” he joked.

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Christophe Laporte

Wout remains the leader, but Laporte sees opportunities

Despite the setbacks, Laporte finds positives in 2024. “I still won an Olympic medal and Paris-Tours in 2024, so you can’t call it a disastrous year. The team has had a lot of luck and success in recent seasons. In 2024 we were a little less lucky. The two previous years were fantastic. Sometimes everything goes well, and sometimes it doesn’t. You just have to deal with it. Every year, we start fresh.”

Christophe Laporte is heading into 2025 looking for revenge. “Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne, Strade Bianche, Milan–San Remo, the Belgian Classics, and Paris–Roubaix—those are my goals,” he says. In the classics-focused block of the Dutch team, there’s room for individual success, though Laporte recognizes Wout van Aert remains the undisputed leader. “He’s the strongest and best on the team. He has the greatest chance of winning in the classics. But as we know, cobbled races are also tactical; the strongest doesn’t always win. He will definitely need riders like me to put his opponents under pressure.” So, don’t expect any change in race tactics.

Still, the 32-year-old Frenchman dreams of putting a crowning achievement on his career. “I know I can win a classic; I’ve done it before. But winning a Monument is another level. A victory in Paris–Roubaix would be the pinnacle of my career. Competing against riders like Van der Poel and Pogacar is tough, but as I said, the strongest doesn’t always win. The way the race plays out could give me a chance, and if everything goes well and I’m having a good day, I could fight for victory in a race like that.”

Tiesj Benoot 

Benoot aims for a start with the A-team in the Tour of Flanders

Tiesj Benoot echoes similar sentiments to his French teammate. His season will start identically to that of team leader Wout van Aert, beginning with the Spanish Clasica Jaen on February 17, followed by the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal, preparing for the Flemish opening weekend. Like Van Aert, he’ll then head to an altitude training camp, skipping the Italian race block, and focus on both the Flemish cobbled races and the Ardennes Classics—a spring schedule much like his 2024 campaign.

“With Wout as our leader and the way we race, there’s always been room for unpredictability in recent years. Many riders on our team can win races. That’s our strength, I think, and it needs to remain our strength. Hopefully, this time, we can start at 100% fitness because then the team is stronger than ever. In recent years, we’ve never been able to start with the full A-team in the Tour of Flanders,” the 30-year-old Belgian told GVA.

After the spring, Benoot will turn his focus to the Tour de France, where he will help team leader Jonas Vingegaard aim for another victory. Benoot’s contract expires at the end of the year, but both he and the team are already in talks, so he’s not worried about it.

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