Visma | Lease a Bike and Van Baarle reflect on failed spring, think Van Aert might hold the solution

For Dutchmen Dylan van Baarle and Wout Poels, the new cycling season cannot start soon enough. Van Baarle had a difficult year. He experienced a challenging spring due to illness and lost his summer — including the Tour de France and Vuelta a España — because of crashes. Poels moved from Bahrain Victorious to XDS Astana Team. In the podcast In Koers, the two riders look ahead to the new season.

Unlike previous years, Van Baarle is starting his season early. The Dutchman is heading Down Under for the first time. "I already left for Australia on January 2, purely to acclimatize to the conditions, which are, of course, completely different compared to Europe. It’s very nice here, and so far, the weather has also been great."

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Dylan van Baarle

Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix peak moments for Van Baarle

"During my training sessions, fortunately, I hardly think back to last year," continues the Visma | Lease a Bike rider. "I’m just trying to check off my training sessions and especially enjoying Australia because it’s not a place you come to every year. I also had plenty of time to reflect on the past season, and on New Year’s, I really left 2024 behind. I trained well this winter and feel ready for the new season."

As a former winner of Paris-Roubaix and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Van Baarle had a streak of bad luck last year due to illness and crashes. This year, he hopes to avoid those kinds of setbacks. "I couldn't do much about the crashes myself. However, as a team, we did analyze the illness I experienced in the spring. By ensuring that I board the plane less fired and plan my training sessions better this spring, I hope to avoid it next season."

"I want to perform well during the classics again and compete for podium finishes," Van Baarle continues. "I’m on a slightly different route than usual, one comparable to Wout van Aert’s preparation. That makes it kind of exciting. I’m confident we’ve put together a solid plan to start the spring classics at a high level and hopefully peak during the Holy Week."

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Poels gets chance to pursue long-held dream

Poels looks back on last year with mixed feelings. While wearing the Bahrain Victorious jersey, the Dutchman won a stage in the Tour of Hungary but wasn’t selected for his main goal. "I had a very good start to the season. I was racing well, with the goal of going to the Giro d’Italia. When I heard I hadn’t been selected, I managed to bounce back with a stage win in Hungary. After that, I had to shift focus to the Tour, but it was a tough goal because my entire schedule was disrupted, and I couldn’t reach my peak level in the Tour."

"I was very disappointed," Poels says about missing out on the Giro d’Italia. "It was a major letdown. I was in good shape and confident it would work out. So it’s a bitter pill to swallow. You start to think about the future and whether you might need to change teams. At the time, I wasn’t angry, but I was a little disappointed and really frustrated."

In the blue jersey of XDS Astana, Poels can once again pursue his main goal: completing the trilogy. "At Astana, I’m allowed to spread my wings a bit more, and that’s one of the reasons I made the switch. Winning a stage in the Giro is a clear objective for me. I also want to achieve good results in other races as well."

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