Visma-Lease a Bike will target both the GC and stage wins at the Giro d’Italia, with Giro debutant Wout van Aert dreaming of taking the pink jersey early in the race, and a varied team assembled to support multiple goals.
After missing his planned Giro debut last year due to his crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Belgian rider will finally take on his first Corsa Rosa this May, with an aim of targeting the “more demanding” stages, and wearing the pink jersey to complete his collection of Grand Tour leaders’ jerseys.
Alongside Van Aert’s aims, the Dutch team will split ambitions across the GC and sprint stages, with new arrival Simon Yates targeting the overall whilst Olav Kooij will be amongst the top sprinters on the start line.
The team to support Visma’s lofty goals will be made up of Edoardo Affini, Wilco Kelderman, Steven Kruijswijk, Bart Lemmen and Dylan van Baarle.
“Personally, I’m targeting the more demanding stages. That could mean a sprint from a reduced group or a long breakaway,” Van Aert said ahead of the race start in Albania.
“The Giro traditionally offers plenty of those types of stages. I’m really excited to finally make my debut in the Giro d’Italia. We all know what happened last year, so I’m especially glad to finally be here. Racing in Italy always gives me a special feeling.”
As well as winning stages, Van Aert hopes that success in the first part of the Giro, where there are some flatter days, and a stage 2 time trial that suits him, could result in him taking the race lead early on.
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“That’s definitely a goal this month,” he said. “I’ve also worn the leader’s jersey in both the Tour and the Vuelta. It would be a dream to wear the pink jersey in the Giro as well.”
In the purely flat stages, however, Van Aert will be on lead-out duty for Olav Kooij. With the team’s split ambitions and a number of climbers in their roster, Kooij’s sprint outfit is slightly reduced – he’ll count on Van Aert, Affini and Lemmen but no Dan McLay – but he’s confident of his chances.
Going up against a sprint field that is missing the likes of Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier, Kooij will be a favourite for a haul of wins against riders such as Kaden Groves, Sam Bennett and Mads Pedersen.
“It’s really special to return there now in stage six,” Kooij said, referencing the stage to Naples, the site of his stage win in 2024.
“I’m looking forward to sprinting again for the stage win. But of course, there are many other opportunities for a bunch sprint. I want to fight for the win every time. The team gives me that confidence, and that means a lot.”
As for the GC and mountain stages, Visma will count on new arrival and former Vuelta a España winner, Simon Yates. The Brit has raced twice so far this season, first taking 14th overall at Tirreno-Adriatico and then ninth at the Volta a Catalunya last month. He’s previously won six stages of the Giro and finished third overall in 2021.
In the team’s line-up announcement, sports director Marc Reef said that their “biggest goal as a team is to chase stage victories”, but for Yates, there are clearly ambitions of a strong overall finish, not just a stage victory in the mountains.
“The Giro is my main goal this season, so I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s a special race for me, full of history and memories — both good and bad. My goal is to achieve the best possible result in the general classification.”
The Giro will be Yates’ first Grand Tour for a team other than Jayco AlUla, and he praised the fact that the team will be starting the race with several ambitions.
“A lot still feels new and different since my move to a new team — the first time in my professional career — but I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress over the past few months. In both races I’ve done this season, I felt stronger each day,” he said.
“It’s exciting to start my first Grand Tour with Team Visma | Lease a Bike, and I’m highly motivated — not just for my personal goals, but also because we have a very strong team with multiple leaders, allowing us to fight for something in nearly every stage.”
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