Van Aert and Vingegaard join forces early in spring: "Turned out to be the perfect preparation"
Cycling
For the top riders of Visma | Lease a Bike, the start of the new season is getting closer and closer. Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard will both begin their 2025 campaigns in February. Van Aert will make his first appearance at Clásica Jaén on February 17, followed two days later by Vingegaard joining him in Portugal for the Volta ao Algarve.
This isn’t the first time Van Aert has chosen this schedule to kick off his season. "Last year was my first time racing these events," he says on the Killer Bees website. In 2024, he took his first victory of the season in Portugal. "It turned out to be the perfect preparation for the Flemish Opening Weekend. I finished third in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne."*
With that early success in mind, Van Aert is sticking to almost the same schedule—the only change being that he is skipping Clásica de Almería. "We thought it would be a good idea to include Clásica Jaén and Volta ao Algarve in my program again. I think they are beautiful races with a lot of variety, where I can test myself immediately. A gravel race always gets my heart racing."
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Van Aert and Vingegaard together in the Algarve
"The Volta ao Algarve will have a bit of everything," Van Aert continues. "There are a few stages where I see opportunities to win, but the main goal is to take another step forward in my preparation for the Spring Classics. Of course, we’ll also be racing for the overall victory with Jonas. I’m really looking forward to racing my first road event of the season."
Vingegaard will be the team leader in Portugal. "It will be my first time racing in the Algarve, which gives me extra motivation," says the Danish Tour winner. "I hope I can immediately fight for the overall win, although I mainly see it as preparation for my bigger goals later in the season." After much speculation, Vingegaard has confirmed that he will 'only' focus on the Tour de France, skipping the Giro d’Italia.
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Visma | Lease a Bike almost at full war strength in Portugal
At the Volta ao Algarve, Vingegaard will have a strong team supporting his bid for the overall victory. "It’s amazing to be surrounded by such a strong team right from the start of the season, with Wout, Sepp Kuss, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman, and Loe van Belle. I can’t wait to pin on a race number again."
The Volta ao Algarve starts on February 19 and features a stacked start list. Alongside the Visma | Lease a Bike leaders, the race will also feature Biniam Girmay, João Almeida, Antonio Morgado, Filippo Ganna, Geraint Thomas, Primož Roglič, Arnaud De Lie, and Julian Alaphilippe. The race includes two sprint stages, a hilly stage, a summit finish, and a final climbing time trial.
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Latest Comments
- Remco is still very young. And injuries can absolutely keep you from overdoing it and getting worse. The recent Remco accident didn't keep him from being able to ride a recumbent inside. Wout's knee is a different story thoughVeganpotter23-01-2025
- Van der Poel style is winning by a half a lap and leading the race from the end of the second lap.
Barnes127420-01-2025 - If she thinks talent alone will put her there she will not see many podium finishes much less a GC finish.....work as a team utilizing tactics to consistently be at the top.Germanrazor10-01-2025
- This was very informative! Luiz Antonio Duarte Ferreiraluizantonioduarteferreira02-01-2025
- Well explained, thanks for the clarity! Daniel DantasDanieldantas20-12-2024
- This is the kind of 'news' that belongs in a cheap tabloid. No matter how boring the offseason gets, nobody wants to read this.
santiagobenites19-12-2024 - I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024