Visma | Lease a Bike proud of top talent, but less Dutch riders: "Then Wout has the best chance"

Grischa Niermann, who took over the sporting leadership within the team following Merijn Zeeman's move to AZ, shared with the Dutch outlet Wieler Revue his expectations for the young riders joining his team next year. "They all have potential. Matthew Brennan, Jørgen Nordhagen and Niklas Behrens have shown that they can really win, while Menno Huising and Tijmen Graat are also very good riders. They will be brought along carefully," said the German, who, in his capacity as a rider and team leader, has witnessed considerable talent over the past 25 years. "I like to be surprised, but we don't expect any of these five to suddenly win a WorldTour race."

The still-only 19-year-old Nordhagen has long been regarded as the next big thing, and Visma | Lease a Bike was quick to offer him a long-term contract a few years ago. "Does Jørgen have the potential to grow to the level of Jonas Vingegaard? He certainly does," Niermann stated, albeit with a caveat.  

"Jørgen is much further along than Jonas was at that age, but yes, someone like Jonas only comes along once in a hundred years," he acknowledged. "Jørgen has shown promising things, but whether he is a candidate to win a grand tour in the future is still impossible to say. He is on the right path, but he is not a Remco Evenepoel type, from whom we expect big wins in his first year, like in San Sebastián."

In a second preview of the year-end interview with the magazine, we hear Niermann talk about the riders that Visma | Lease did not secure. And especially riders with Dutch nationality. Robert Gesink, Mick and Tim van Dijke, Koen Bouwman, and Milan Vader all left, so only eight Dutchmen remain within the WorldTour team. "We are a team with Dutch roots, but in recent years, we have many international sponsors on board. Above all, we want to be the best team in the world and need the best riders."

However, Niermann stressed that they did search for Dutch riders. "If a Dutch rider and a foreign rider are of the same level, we are more likely to choose the Dutch rider. But we mainly choose the best rider. Take Simon Yates: no Dutch rider can simply do what he can. We can't choose from all Dutch riders either because some riders consciously decide to ride for another team. That's perfectly fine, too."

An example? Jelte Krijnsen is mentioned. "But he chose Team Jayco-AlUla. It is also no secret that we would have liked to continue with Tim and Mick van Dijke. They only want to be co-leaders in the classics, just like Jelte. I can understand that, but with the team we have, we simply can't promise that. If you take a step forward and become stronger than Wout van Aert, we are the team providing you with opportunities. Look at Jonas Vingegaard in the past with Primož Roglic. But Wout still has the best chance with us if we want to win the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix."

Fortunately, there is also the development team. Think of 19-year-old Jørgen Nordhagen, who is already being promoted. "Whether Jørgen has the potential to grow to the level of Jonas Vingegaard? He has that potential. Jørgen is much further along than Jonas was at that age, but yes, you only find a Jonas once in a hundred years. He has shown nice things, but whether he is a candidate to win a grand tour in the future is impossible to say at this point. Jørgen is on the right track, but he is also not the Remco Evenepoel we expect to excel in San Sebastián in his first year. " 

Through the official channels of Visma | Lease a Bike, there was extensive focus on the development team. The head of the development team, Robbert de Groot, is a satisfied man after twelve wins in 2024. "Overall, we can only be pleased. With Jørgen Nordhagen, Tijmen Graat, Menno Huising, and Matthew Brennan, we're promoting four riders to our own WorldTeam, which is fantastic. And with Darren van Bekkum, even a fifth rider is making the leap to the WorldTour (besides Astana Qazaqstan, ed.). That's part of talent development too: sometimes other teams benefit from our hard work."

However, De Groot was and is extra proud that in 2024, Olav, Kooij, a homegrown rider, won a stage in the Giro d'Italia. "That's wonderful, of course, and it's why we do what we do. Sports directors Sierk-Jan de Haan, Robert Wagner, and I cheered hard for that victory. It proves that riders who come up through our ranks truly get the chance to develop all the way to the highest level."

So what does De Groot expect from the four who are heading to the WorldTour? "Menno and Tijmen proved last year that they deserve to step up to the WorldTour and clearly showed progress. Jørgen has confirmed that he's the great talent we see in him. And I have to say, Matthew really surprised us. We knew he was a huge talent, but what he showed from start to finish this season was truly impressive."