Visma-Lease a Bike team manager Grischa Niermann called for improved positioning and a touch of bad weather to boost the team’s chances after coming away empty-handed from the Opening Weekend. Despite a strong showing at Sunday’s Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, where sprinter Olav Kooij finished a close second to winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix), Niermann expressed disappointment at the team’s failure to secure a victory.
“Olav’s second-place finish is a good result for him and for us, but we came here with the goal of winning, ideally two races,” Niermann said. “That didn’t happen, so naturally, we’re a bit disappointed. However, the key races are still ahead.”
The race ended in a large bunch sprint after an early breakaway dominated the day, with the escapees holding off the peloton for much of the race. Despite efforts from Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) to bridge the gap, the breakaway was caught with around 10 kilometers remaining, setting the stage for a fast finish.
Van Aert acknowledged the challenge of the race, explaining that with so many teams fielding sprinters, it was always going to be difficult to close the gap to the breakaway. “We tried, but it didn’t work out,” he said. “It’s good to have these tough races in our legs, but that wasn’t the main goal for us this weekend.”
Roger Adrià of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, who had closely followed Van Aert as the Belgian attempted to bridge to the escapees, voiced his frustration. “I felt it was impossible to close the gap myself. I would have preferred he worked with me. Unfortunately, he had a sprinter on his team, but that’s racing.”
Looking ahead, Niermann stated that the team would take lessons from the Opening Weekend performance and hoped for better conditions in upcoming races.
“We need to improve our positioning as a team during critical moments,” he said. “We were in the mix, but not as dominant as in previous years. We need to get that right.”
He also noted the influence of weather on race outcomes, pointing out that last year’s windier conditions at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad had played a part in the team’s success. “This year, we had ideal weather—blue skies and dry roads—which led to larger groups reaching the finish together. In tougher conditions, like more wind, the race dynamics would be different,” Niermann explained.
When asked if worse weather would help, he replied with a wry smile, “Yes, that would partly help.”
With key races on the horizon, Visma-Lease a Bike will look to capitalize on the lessons learned from their Opening Weekend experience.
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