• Wout Van Aert and the Jumbo-Visma are the big favourites for the Tour of Flanders this Sunday.
  • Since the beginning of the Belgian classics, the Dutch team has left nothing to its competitors, thanks to a very offensive race strategy.
  • All-out attacks, teammates who win races and a special attention to the human... The Jumbo-Visma leaves nothing to chance.

Yellow and black species that spin at full speed in the middle of nature at the beginning of spring? Global warming may be slowly consuming our environment, but you are not yet likely to see bees (or wasps, make your choice) this Sunday around Vieux-Quaremont, on the occasion of the Tour of Flanders. No, these big two-tone animals that will come to forage on the Belgian mountains, they are the riders of the Jumbo-Visma.

With five wins in six races (two wins for Christophe Laporte, one for Wout Van Aert, one for Dylan Van Baarle and another for Tiesj Benoot), the Dutch team is on another planet in this blessed era of classics. But, beyond the results, it is the way in which they are acquired that impresses. The sergeants who go on observation, the generals who attack about fifty kilometers from the finish and the battalion (or almost) that ends up arm in arm, as during the parade in Van Aert and Laporte during Ghent-Wevelgem.

Not surprising, according to Tom Leezer, rider of the Jumbo-Visma until 2020, who has already been able to observe the beginnings of this total cycling: "We had already tried these kinds of strategies, but they are only really effective since last year and have increased a little this year. You had to have strong enough riders to be able to use that tactic, and I don't think we had them. Today there is a great team with riders capable of executing this plan. Yes, because if the yellow and black team can afford this kind of tactic, it is mainly because it has the best riders in the world. Almost.

A single watchword, anticipate

For example, on the Ronde, this Sunday the Jumbo will present itself with Wout Van Aert, Tiesj Benoot, Chistophe Laporte or Nathan Van Hooydonck. So many riders who would be leaders in any other team. "When you assemble great riders, the strategy is easy," says former rider Sébastien Chavanel. With a mantra: group anticipation. Attack at 52 km from the finish for Laporte and Van Aert during Ghent Wevelgem, attack of Benoot and Laporte 54 km from the line during A Travers la Flandre. Not to mention the famous stage of the Tour de France, last year, where the Batavians overthrew Pogacar.


Laporte and van Aert are gone! The two riders of the Jumbo-Visma took off during the 2nd ascent of the Kemmel. Will they go all the way?

Follow Gent-Wevelgem on Eurosport#LesRP #GW23 pic.twitter.com/YqY5VflqTs

— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) March 26, 2023

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"With this collective strength, they sweep the race early, put it everywhere and after, they play the fact of being outnumbered, says the king of the attack Pierre Rolland, now a consultant for La chaîne L'Equipe. On these classics, where there are small roads, if a team puts the cursor very high, if we are poorly placed or we have a technical problem, it's over. This race strategy is admired by Laurens De Vreese, Mathieu Van Der Poel's former teammate at Alpecin:

I really like this way of running, and it's especially very smart. The sooner they attack, the more the final result of the race depends on themselves, and the easier it is for them to control the race. In the Tour of Flanders, for example, if you don't do anything before the second passage of the Paterberg [50 km from the finish], you take the risk that guys have good legs and accompany you to the finish line. You can't take that risk when you have the best riders and the best team. »

"They are at the cutting edge"

And, who says better team, also says better staff. Because the sporting directors leave nothing to chance, as Christophe Laporte confided to L'Equipe after his success on A Travers la Flandre: "Everything is dissected, everything is planned. The race is divided into three phases: a control phase and several action phases where everyone knows what exactly they need to do. We always have plans A, B and C. All scenarios are taken into account. »

And we understood on Wednesday, seeing two assistants in the middle of nowhere, on the side of the road in Ladeuze, just a few kilometers after the attack of Benoot and Laporte, that everything was going according to the plans. "They have a very relevant strategy, with a special approach, a huge preparation, very good equipment," says Pierre Rolland. They are at the cutting edge. And, despite this robotic side, the Jumbo Visma does not skimp on the care given to the human.

"The problem with teams that operate on one or two riders is that you feed the ego of an individual or two. There, we feed everyone's ego, develops Sébastien Chavanel. They are very interested in the individual, to put him in confidence and that he fully expresses his potential. For me, it's more a question of management than something miraculous. Everyone eats a piece of the cake. The best illustration is Van Aert who lets Laporte win during Ghent-Wevelgem. A gesture that allows the Frenchman to live "his childhood dream" and Van Aert to ensure that everyone is invested during the biggest deadlines where he will really be on the front line.



An individual feat to counter collective strength?

So, for the opponents, how to face the Avengers of cycling? Our stakeholders have their little idea, even if they assure that it will be almost mission impossible to counter the Jumbo. "A breakaway with about fifteen riders, with some outsiders starting from very far, Jumbo-Visma could have problems to control, advises Laurens De Vreese. If the other teams are smart, they don't help the Jumbo hunt, and that can be complicated for them. »

For Sébastien Chavanel, "the other teams are trapped anyway. If there is Benoot in front, or Van Hooydonck or Laporte, it's almost too late. Today, there is no team that can collectively compete with Jumbo. The difference can only be made individually by Pogacar or Van Der Poel. Tom Leezer said: "I think Pogacar and Van der Poel will try to start early in the race. If they start 70 to 80 km from the finish, and that's what I would do for them, it would make things much more difficult for the Jumbo. That's just to get rid of Laporte or Benoot. But Van Aert may still hang on. Like a bee at the pistil of a flower.

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