Will Pogacar and Vingegaard retire sooner than their predecessors? Departing Visma | Lease a Bike Belgian fears so

Van der Sande started in 2012 with the then Lotto Belisol. He remained loyal to the Belgian team for ten seasons, but decided to change jerseys after 2021. Visma | Lease a Bike, the leader in the WorldTour, showed interest, and of course, he couldn't pass up that opportunity. He proved his worth as a domestique for Wout van Aert and the sprint trains, among others.

Van der Sande realizes that cycling is growing beyond him a bit, with all the young talent emerging and the focus on equipment, nutrition, and even the most minor details. “In 2011, I still had the luxury of waiting, but today's young people can't do that anymore. It all happens so fast. The big difference is that, compared to my time, young riders are already much more professional.”

“There are even newcomers who go on altitude training camps now. I was 30 when I did my first altitude training camp,” Van der Sande confesses. “And believe me, altitude training camps are boring. They have a huge impact on your fitness, that's for sure. But a training camp like that is just training, eating, and sleeping. And not just one week, but three weeks in a row.”

The switch to Visma | Lease a Bike brought Van der Sande to the top of cycling in 2022, and he noticed that in his daily life. “You are so focused on nutrition that you push yourself to the limit. At one point, I started turning down family dinners because I had to weigh my food.”

“And if I still wanted to be present at a family gathering, I would bring my own food, while the rest of the family was enjoying something tasty,” continues the Belgian, who has absolutely no sympathy for himself. But: “You could say that a career of ten years is about average for professionals. I'm pretty sure that will decrease in the future.”

Despite all those decimal points, Van der Sande's value to Visma | Lease a Bike was evident in his team leaders' results. "A little pat on the back can work wonders. Olav Kooij and Matthew Brennan, for example, say that without me, they wouldn't be where they are today. That really means something to you."