'Overcome by the cold' and 'admirable' according to Visma | Lease a Bike, but also 'promising'

Like last year, the Flèche Wallonne was mainly characterized by rain and cold. "It was a tough race. That was not only because of the course, but also because of the rain and the cold," sports director Arthur van Dongen summarized the race on the team website.

Van Dongen's team saw Jørgen Nordhagen, Ben Tulett, and Benoot stay at the front for a long time. The trio started the final climb of the Wall of Huy in a select group. Pogacar accelerated early and reached the finish line solo a little later. A fighting Benoot and Tulett took twelfth and eighteenth place in the group behind.

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Van Dongen was satisfied with his team's performance after the race. "The controlling teams rode a tight pace all day, which is why a lot of guys had to drop out early. Nevertheless, I thought we were well in the race."

Benoot, who finished in the top ten in the previous two editions, was involved in a crash earlier in the race and had to work hard to get back into the peloton. "It's a pity that Tiesj crashed and Ben got caught in the cold. That Tiesj still managed to join the front group is admirable."

Van Dongen also praised the performance of the young Nordhagen (20). "Jørgen rode a good race. That he started the final climb of the Mur de Huy in a select group promises something for the future. All in all, we had hoped for more today, but there are enough identifiable reasons why we failed to take a top-ten classification."