'He is the future of the team' — Visma | Lease a Bike DS heaps praise on 19-year-old after first professional win

Visma | Lease a Bike had a remarkable weekend — winning both the first mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia with Jonas Vingegaard and the queen stage of the Flèche du Sud in Luxembourg. There, 19-year-old Belgian Matisse Van Kerckhove took his first professional victory, winning the stage and taking the race lead from teammate Matthew Brennan, who had won the first two stages.

"Brennan had said beforehand that the stage might be a little too demanding for him, but he immediately put himself fully at the disposal of the team. The Brit played an important role in further thinning out the group and delivered strong work in service of his teammates," the team noted in their race report.

With Brennan's support in place, Van Kerckhove then did the rest — holding off Luxembourgers Arno Wallenborn and Mats Wenzel to claim his first professional win. "My first professional victory — that is truly brilliant. I had really great legs," the young Belgian said.

"We came to Luxembourg to give the young riders a chance — to fight for a win or ride a strong finale," said sporting director Gaëtan Pons. "When you see them take that chance and deliver on it, that is wonderful to see. Certainly in the case of Matisse, on a hard stage like this, it is very promising. He is the future of the team."

Pons confirmed that Van Kerckhove will join the WorldTour squad in 2027. "Today is once again a confirmation that Matisse is ready to take that step up to the professional team."