Van Aert, Kooij and Yates form mighty trio for Visma | Lease a Bike in hunt for stage wins and pink jersey in Giro

With this year’s Giro featuring a highly varied route, Visma | Lease a Bike has opted for a well-rounded squad. “The Giro has a very balanced course this year, with interesting stages for every type of rider. And we’re bringing a team made up of a wide range of rider profiles,” said sports director Marc Reef on the team’s website. “Our main objective as a team is to chase stage wins. With Wout van Aert, Olav Kooij, and Simon Yates, we have three leaders who’ve already shown they can win at a grand tour. With them, we can be competitive on all terrain.”

All eyes will be on Kooij in the flat stages. The 23-year-old sprinter won the stage to Naples last year and hopes to repeat that success. “It’s really special to go back there again for stage six, of course,” he said about the stage, which once again finishes in the southern Italian city. “I’m looking forward to sprinting for the win there again. But there are plenty of other opportunities for bunch sprints too. I just want to be in the mix for the win every time. The team gives me that confidence, and that means a lot to me.”

This means Van Aert won’t be contesting the bunch sprints in the easiest stages. “Olav is our biggest chance for a stage win in the flat sprints,” said the Belgian. “So it makes perfect sense that we support him in those stages, and I’ll do my best to help get him into a good position for the finish. Personally, I want to go for it in the more challenging stages. That could be in a sprint from a reduced group or with a long-range attack. The Giro traditionally offers plenty of those kinds of opportunities.”

This will be Van Aert’s very first Giro. “I’m really looking forward to finally making my debut at the Giro d’Italia. We all know what happened last year, so that makes me even more grateful to finally be here. Racing in Italy always gives me a special feeling.” A stage win would complete his hat trick, victories in all three Grand Tours. “That’s definitely a goal for the coming month. I’ve also worn the leader’s jersey in both the Tour and the Vuelta. It would be a dream to wear pink in the Giro as well.”

Yates will make his grand tour debut for the Killer Bees. The Giro d’Italia holds special meaning for the climber because he’s experienced so much there. “The Giro is my main goal this season, so I’m really looking forward to it,” said the brother of Adam Yates, who will be racing for UAE Team Emirates - XRG. “It’s a special race for me, full of history and memories, both good and not so good. My goal is to achieve the best possible result in the general classification.” In 2018, Yates looked poised to win the Giro, but collapsed spectacularly in the final weekend.

He’s still adjusting to life at Visma | Lease a Bike. “A lot of things still feel new and different since moving to another team for the first time in my pro career, but I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress in the past few months. In both races I’ve done this season, I felt stronger each day. It’s exciting to start my first Grand Tour with Team Visma | Lease a Bike, and I’m really motivated, not just for my own goals, but because we have such a strong team with multiple leaders, meaning we can compete for something in nearly every stage.”