Visma | Lease a Bike makes last-minute change to Gent-Wevelgem lineup - What's going on?

Visma | Lease a Bike will start Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday without Loe van Belle. The Dutch rider is being replaced by Matteo Jorgenson, who finished ninth in the E3 Saxo Classic. While some voices in Belgium suggested Wout van Aert should join the lineup, it’s now confirmed that he will not be on the start line in Ypres. Olav Kooij will lead the team.

The Dutch squad had a tough outing in Friday’s E3 Saxo Classic, where they were on the back foot from the moment the race exploded on the Taaienberg. While Jorgenson (ninth), Van Aert (fifteenth), and Tiesj Benoot (twentieth) all finished in the top 20, the overall performance left much to be desired. “All in all, I rode a decent finale, but I can’t look back at this race with satisfaction. I came here to get a result, and that didn’t happen,” Van Aert said afterward.

His training partner Jan Bakelants floated the idea of adding Gent-Wevelgem to his schedule. “I don’t think it would be a crazy idea to race on Sunday. A bit more racing wouldn’t hurt,” the former pro suggested during VTM’s E3 live broadcast.

Despite Van Belle’s replacement—and with Per Strand Hagenes out sick and Christophe Laporte missing the entire spring so far—there is no spot for Van Aert in the Gent-Wevelgem lineup. The former winner of the race will return to action on Wednesday at Dwars door Vlaanderen. After that, the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix are next on the calendar.

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"Kooij deserves full support in Gent-Wevelgem"

On Sunday, all eyes will be on Olav Kooij, despite his crash on Wednesday during the Classic Brugge-De Panne. “He showed in Milan–San Remo that he’s taken another step this winter in the classics. He deserves our full support in Gent–Wevelgem. We’re aiming for a sprint with Olav, but in this race, every edition turns into a tactical battle between attackers and sprinters. So a bunch sprint is never guaranteed, but we’ll try to guide Olav to the finish in the best way possible,” said sports director Grischa Niermann in the Dutch team’s race preview.

Kooij himself is looking forward to the race as well. “I think it’s a beautiful race. Especially the edition that Christophe Laporte won for us—it was brilliant because of our great teamwork. The key for us is to stay alert in the hill zone and then assess the race situation as we head toward Wevelgem. Hopefully we can create a scenario where we’re able to fight for the win.” At the finish in Wevelgem, Kooij will face rivals like Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan—who will have Mads Pedersen by his side—and Jasper Philipsen. Notably, Mathieu van der Poel, Filippo Ganna, and Tadej Pogacar will not be racing.

In Gent–Wevelgem, Kooij will be supported by Jorgenson, Tiesj Benoot, Tosh Van der Sande, Julien Vermote, Dan McLay, and Victor Campenaerts.

Selection Visma | Lease a Bike Gent-Wevelgem 2025

Tosh Van der Sande
Victor Campenaerts
Julien Vermote
Tiesj Benoot
Matteo Jorgenson
Dan McLay
Olav Kooij

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