Secretive on purpose? This is what we do (and don't) know about the spring recons of Visma | Lease a Bike

On Monday, they tackled the hills we usually see in the Tour of Flanders and all other Belgian spring races. For Van Aert, it meant a reunion with the descent toward the Kanarieberg, where he crashed so horribly in Dwars door Vlaanderen at the end of March this year. This time, the Belgian was cheering in both photo and video. We saw via the social channels of Visma | Lease a Bike and the new arrival, Niklas Behrens.

One day later, they went further south on the stones of Paris-Roubaix. There, the Visma | Lease a Bike men explored 133 kilometers of the Hell of the North course, in which Van Aert also apparently tested a gimmick. With the text "Pump it Up" and a tag to GRAVAA accompanying a (since deleted) photo on Instagram, the Belgian hints that the recon was initiated to test an improved tire pressure system.

This GRAVAA system is a button-based tool for regulating tire pressure during cycling. Some riders used it in Paris-Roubaix in 2023. Christophe Laporte, Dylan van Baarle, and Edoardo Affini rode the race with the system, which Jumbo-Visma—as it was called at the time—also raved about via a press release.

"This allows for more grip and comfort on cobblestones and less rolling resistance on harder surfaces. The system improves performance and increases safety," the team explained then. "Although we saw the technical advantages, we also found that KAPS improved the comfort of riding the bike. The riders who used the system had less trouble with their arms after yet another cobbled section."

The system was put on hold last season, but Marianne Vos still managed to win the World Gravel Championship in October with it. As we read on the GRAVAA site, "We spent many years developing this technology, and we are happy that the Jumbo-Visma World Tour Team is embracing it now." So, there seems to have been considerable progress.

Logically, Visma | Lease a Bike and GRAVAA are not yet showing the back of their tongues regarding the technology and benefits of this system. Still, the team members are indeed aware of the impact of social media posts. Van Aert's Strava title at the Roubaix recon was, therefore, "Cucumber time," after being featured in several media outlets last week via the Cyclingspy account with a possible new tire sponsor for the team.

Indeed, he trained in Spain with Continental tires instead of those of team sponsor Vittoria, but at least Vittoria was again featured pontifically on the Belgian's Roubaix bike. And we have to hand it to him: after x number of years, Van Aert also knows how to play the media with his Strava titles excellently now and then.

OK, why is Visma | Lease a Bike choosing to do some recon now? First, it is easier to get everyone together during this period, knowing that there are still some obligations like the team day and medical tests on the schedule before meeting again in Spain at the first December camp. In addition, there is also simply more time to optimize gadgets - such as GRAVAA - with the feedback provided by the riders after these recon sessions.

This is why the entire spring core was present. In the images shared by the teams, we saw—in addition to team leaders Grischa Niermann and Maarten Wynants—at least Van Aert, Laporte, Van Baarle, Affini, Behrens, Tiesj Benoot, Olav Kooij, Matteo Jorgenson, Per Strand Hagenes, Victor Campenaerts, Menno Huising, Loe van Belle, Julien Vermote, Tosh Van der Sande, and Axel Zingle showing up in the Flandrien weather.