Satisfied, but also disappointed: this is how Visma | Lease a Bike reflects on Milan-San Remo with Kooij and Laporte

Visma | Lease a Bike did not succeed in including one of its riders in the twelve-man group contending for the win in La Primavera at Milan-San Remo on Saturday. Olav Kooij, in his debut at a Monument, was the Dutch team's top performer, finishing in fourteenth place.

Team leader Christophe Laporte was one of the first riders to drop on the Capo Berta and eventually did not reach San Remo. The Frenchman turned out to be slightly unwell. "He felt a bit sick. Even on the first climb, we could see that it was going to be a difficult story," team director Maarten Wynants reported on the team's communication channels. "Eventually, Olav was exactly where he needed to be in the finale, but Tadej Pogacar's second acceleration was too much for him. There is absolutely no disgrace in that."

"Of course, in that situation you hope that things will calm down at the front, but that didn't happen. We have to be satisfied with a fourteenth place for Olav. That's simply a very impressive performance in your first monument," Wynants pointed out. "Of course, as a team, we are disappointed that we didn't achieve a top result here. But the way Olav has shown what he can do here offers perspective for the future."

Kooij definitely wants to return in Milan-San Remo

Kooij himself saw thing the same way. "As expected, the pace was very high on the Cipressa. I was really at my limit, but I managed to survive. I also did well on the Poggio. But when the strongest riders started to accelerate, I didn't have the legs anymore," the man from Numansdorp honestly says in his analysis after Milan-San Remo. "I definitely want to return here someday and then I hope to sprint for the victory, just like Jasper Philipsen did. It feels good that I was able to survive the Cipressa. This race once again illustrates the evolution I'm going through," said the Dutchman.