Decapitated Visma | Lease a Bike prepares for battle with Van der Poel in the Tour of Flanders: "We're not afraid of him"

This Sunday, it's finally time for the High Mass of cycling, aka the Tour of Flanders! While many were anticipating a new duel between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, the latter unfortunately crashed in Dwars door Vlaanderen, shattering his spring season. Therefore, Matteo Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot from Visma | Lease a Bike will have to step up and face the world champion as the team's main contenders. IDLProCycling.com was present at the press conference!

"Of course, this is a significant setback that we all need to process. After that, we can make new plans," said team director Arthur van Dongen following Dwars door Vlaanderen - a race won by Jorgenson - speaking to this site about Van Aert's crash. And so, a few days before the start of Flanders' Finest, all eyes are on the other top talents within the team of CEO Richard Plugge. We're mainly talking about Jorgenson and Benoot, who both made appearances at the press conference held at KAA Gent’s football stadium.

Van Aert (and Benoot) with more details about the crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen

We can't avoid it on Friday afternoon either: Van Aert's situation naturally comes up frequently. "Do we really need images of cyclists' wives and small children visiting their partner/dad in the hospital? Let those people be at such times. I don't need more than a medical update," a cycling fan recently remarked in a tweet, which was retweeted by Van Aert, still in the hospital. The figurehead of the Dutch WorldTour team was thereby crystal clear in his stance.

The Kanarieberg - where everything went wrong on Wednesday afternoon in the run-up to its climb - will not be part of the Tour of Flanders route for the first time in nine years. "I was really troubled by the thought that I might have played a big part in the crash," explains Benoot, who witnessed the incident from the front row (it is suggested that Van Aert crashed into the wheel of his countryman), upon being asked. "Wout's explanation was different from what I had thought. In the end, it was just an incident. Through all the stories, I can form an image of what happened. You're riding towards a point where nobody wants to brake. Wout isn't quite sure what exactly happened, but he would find it strange if he had touched my wheel. He was extremely focused," the avid Gent supporter elaborates.

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Visma | Lease a Bike can race as the underdog in the Tour of Flanders

For the reasons mentioned above, Benoot suggests they obviously have to race differently. "We can race as the underdog. That does take some pressure off the team. But the mood is still mixed," says the 30-year-old veteran. "We all had mixed feelings. But today (Friday, ed.) we did a recon and could fully focus our thoughts on Sunday. Wout sent us some messages, which really motivated us."

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While many doubt it, Benoot believes it's entirely possible to beat Van der Poel. "We're not afraid of him, but of course, he plays a big part in our plan," he says confidently. "Seeing how he raced on Sunday (in Gent-Wevelgem, ed.) and Friday (in the E3 Saxo Classic, ed.), you have to get to the finish without him. Our strength is our depth, so we have to play that to the fullest."

Jorgenson appears to be the most likely card to be played: "Van der Poel is supernatural"

Within the Visma | Lease a Bike team, it seems to be Paris-Nice winner Jorgenson, who can be labeled as the revelation of the spring, who needs to save the day. The in-form American rider is clearly eager for perhaps the most important spring race of all. "It felt good to win under those circumstances," he says about his victory in the preparatory race for the Tour. "It was nice to bring some positivity to the team after all the bad luck."

Van der Poel naturally comes up in the conversation with Jorgenson as well. "He's supernatural," he praises as if it goes without saying. "He's super strong and naturally the top favorite. Yet, anything can happen. I myself prefer a tough race. Then I'm just a bit better."