Visma | Lease a Bike impress in Ruta del Sol — and not only with stage winner Laporte

Even though Laporte won from a sprint — ahead of Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ) and Ben Oliver (Modern Adventure Pro Cycling) — it was far from a routine sprint day in Andalusia. The peloton was stretched and split repeatedly, with several groups getting clear at different moments. Visma | Lease a Bike were involved throughout, with teammates such as Victor Campenaerts and Axel Zingle among the riders animating the race and covering moves.

Laporte understandably left Spain in high spirits. “It’s fantastic to start the season this way,” he said afterwards. “I really wanted to ride a few races before the classics season starts. I had a good winter and was looking forward to starting my season today.”

The 33-year-old also felt his legs were there on a stage that offered plenty of climbing and constant changes of pace. “During the race, I felt strong and was able to keep up with the pace of the guys on the climbs,” Laporte explained. “We were in control all day and always had someone from our team in the front group.”

Visma | Lease a Bike then guided him into position for the finish, although Laporte admitted he found himself on the front a little earlier than planned. “In the final, the team did an excellent job of bringing me to the front,” he continued. “In the sprint, I got to the front a little too early, so I decided to slow down for a moment. I followed the wheel of the riders in front of me and started the sprint at about 200 meters.”

The kick was decisive. “I went full to the finish line and saw that I had enough of a lead,” Laporte said. “It’s great to be able to finish the work of my teammates like this.”

The Dutch squad rounded off an excellent opening day in style: alongside the stage win, Laporte also pulled on both the overall leader’s jersey and the points jersey, while the aggressive Campenaerts took the mountains jersey after collecting KOM points earlier in the stage. Only the young rider classification remained out of reach for the ‘Killer Bees’ after stage one.

Sports director Marc Reef could only be pleased with what he saw. “This is a very good start,” Reef said. “Victor jumped away immediately after the start and created a good situation for us. After he got caught, the attacks followed one after another. Our men were very sharp and Christophe in particular showed that he is in good shape.”

Reef also explained how the finale unfolded for Laporte. “In the last kilometer, Axel braked a little too early, causing Christophe to take the lead too soon,” he said. “He had to hold back for a moment, but then you can see that his instincts are excellent and he starts the sprint at the right moment. It’s great that he’s taken a victory right away after a difficult year. He really deserves it.”