"Where Mathieu can now handle 250 km, Bini couldn't yet" – The how and why behind Girmay’s big spring goal

From a sporting perspective, Intermarché-Wanty reached the peak of its potential during the 2024 Tour de France, winning three stages and securing the green jersey. Yet, sporting director Aike Visbeek is far from satisfied. Despite the reality that the team still relies on two main sponsors, resulting in the loss of some key riders, confidence remains high for a strong 2025 season.

Visbeek saw Mike Teunissen and Madis Mikhels, two crucial riders for the team’s classics squad, leave the team. “Madis and Mike didn’t want to leave, but in the end, it all comes down to budget. They’re two riders you don’t want to lose. We currently have 28 riders, with space for 30. If we had more budget, we could have kept those two, and with the signings we made, I would have been completely satisfied.”

“I have a great bond with Mike, someone I’ve been through a lot with,” says Visbeek, who already worked with the Dutch rider at Sunweb. “Madis is also a really good, loyal guy. He came to us as a talented young rider from Estonia and chose our team. Now, when he checks his bank account every month, I think he’ll be happy that he made the jump to the WorldTour through us,” he adds about Mikhels, who has since moved to EF Education-EasyPost.

Despite securing the Tour’s green jersey, there hasn’t been a major pot of gold injected to the team. “We’ve been able to invest in performance, which is crucial. We’re building a pyramid, and that starts with a solid foundation. At the same time, we always want to maintain balance within our staff. We have to make smart decisions and work hard,” explains Visbeek. “I’m the performance manager, but I also spend 100 days a year in the team car. That means there are other things I can’t focus on. That’s just how it is,” he concludes, as clear and direct as ever.

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Visbeek building for the future with Intermarché-Wanty

“I don’t want to be dramatic about it, but every year, we lose one or two good riders. That’s just the reality we have to deal with,” says Aike Visbeek as he continues shaping the future of Intermarché-Wanty. “We have a very young team that is developing rapidly, but the budget needs to grow alongside it. This is an important year for that, and I think some good things are happening.” Looking at the bigger picture, Visbeek points out a broader issue: “Which Belgian team has found an extra sponsor? None. That’s the reality we’re in, not just as a team but for Belgian cycling as a whole. With Biniam Girmay, however, we now have a profile that makes us more attractive.”

Despite financial constraints, Intermarché-Wanty has managed to build upon its existing squad every year. “I expect progress from a lot of our guys. Francesco Busato is coming up, but also Laurenz Rex and Hugo Page, who will take another step forward now that they’ve experienced the Tour. I don’t want to put pressure on Huub Artz, but he’s also a rider who could already show some great things—though there’s no rush for that yet. Gerben Thijssen has had a strong winter, and from my experience, that usually means the results will come.”

At the same time, Visbeek is also thinking long-term. The team has secured Norwegian top talent Felix Orn-Kristoff. “He had offers from many big teams, but I truly believe he’s going to be a major rider in the future. We got in contact through his father, who is also his manager. We have a great relationship, and I think they know exactly what they want. They’re not choosing the easy route or chasing money—they just want him to become the best rider he can be.”

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Visbeek and Intermarché-Wanty have set clear goals for 2025

"We have four main goals: competing for wins in the classics, achieving 20 victories, performing well in the Giro, and winning a stage in the Tour," says Aike Visbeek, outlining the team’s ambitions for the upcoming season. Points are no longer a concern. "We want to win races, and as long as we stay sharp, we won’t have to worry. We lacked strong results in the spring, and we lost Gerben Thijssen and Arne Marit to injury. Then our Giro plans with Biniam Girmay fell apart, so I knew we had to perform well in the latter part of the season. We took responsibility and delivered, and I have to give credit to our riders for that. That’s the Intermarché-Wanty DNA."

Team leader Girmay will be central to achieving several of these objectives, particularly in the classics. "Right now, we’re working hard on the areas where he was still lacking. In 2022, he got far through a combination of racing and strong training. If guys like Victor Campenaerts and Tiesj Benoot want to train hard in November, they head to the Flemish Ardennes and attack the cobbled climbs full gas. That’s the perfect winter training—but Bini can’t do that."

Visbeek explains that Girmay’s development is focused on gaining toughness through racing and improving his fluidity and cadence, something influenced by his training in Eritrea. "Milan-San Remo is 300 kilometers long, with 60 kilometers of actual racing while spending 240 kilometers in the wheels at 50 km/h. Mathieu (van der Poel, ed.) now has the ability to maintain that fluidity over 250 kilometers—but Bini didn’t yet. These are the details we’re working on."

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It’s no coincidence that La Primavera is the race Visbeek highlights—this is where Bini wants to make his mark. “I think it’s good that we put pressure on San Remo. That way, we challenge him to do everything right. In 2022, you saw that he was okay in San Remo and then really strong afterward. Now, I think he can start a great period from San Remo onwards. Last year, the pace over Capo Berta was brutal. The lead-out men couldn’t hold on, and many teams had to use their Cipressa riders earlier than planned. Bini spent too much time in the wind, and in the end, that made the difference.”

According to Visbeek, the Tour de France green jersey winner is showing clear progress. “Bini is more confident. He’s developing, but so are the guys around him. He’s learning the level of professionalism that riders like Tiesj Benoot and Jasper Stuyven bring to the sport. He’s also becoming more of a leader, more mature. I saw that clearly in Hamburg—he was assertive and told the team outright that the race would be for him.”

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