{"id":1802030,"date":"2026-03-02T07:22:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T04:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1802030"},"modified":"2026-03-02T07:22:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T04:22:46","slug":"visma-back-on-the-attack-brennan-deliver-classics-breakout-van-aert-set-to-race-jorgenson-podiums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1802030","title":{"rendered":"Visma Back on the Attack: Brennan Deliver Classics Breakout, Van Aert Set to Race, Jorgenson Podiums"},"content":{"rendered":"
Visma-Lease a Bike snapped out of its sluggish start to 2026 this weekend with some morale-boosting results across Belgium and France this weekend.<\/p>\n
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Matthew Brennan stampeded to a breakout win at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne to open his classics account, and Matteo Jorgenson hit the podium in France.<\/p>\n
And even more good news for the Killer Bees, Wout van Aert is confirmed to debut his 2026 road campaign on Tuesday at Le Samyn.<\/p>\n
All this comes just a week before Jonas Vingegaard is also set to jump-start his 2026 road season at Paris-Nice on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Dutch super team might have missed a few gears out of the gate, but it appears to be hitting full throttle just in time for when it counts.<\/p>\n
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Van Aert debuts road season Tuesday<\/h2>\nVan Aert, shown here at Dwars last spring, debuts his 2026 season this week. (Photo: Gruber Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Van Aert\u2019s season finally starts at Le Samyn after illness forced him out of Omloop this weekend.<\/p>\n
The Belgian all-rounder returned from Sierra Nevada in strong condition following his January ankle fracture, but fell sick days before Opening Weekend.<\/p>\n
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Race organizers confirmed Monday he will take the start at Le Samyn on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddea #lesamyn<\/p>\n
Wout is happy to start racing again in Le Samyn. \ud83d\ude0d pic.twitter.com\/QclYfikLiu<\/p>\n
\u2014 Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) March 2, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
With Mathieu van der Poel stepping away after winning Omloop to focus on training, all eyes will be on Van Aert.<\/p>\n
With a showdown with Tadej Poga\u010dar looming at Strade Bianche on Saturday, Van Aert will be out to make a statement.<\/p>\n
So far this season, all the \u201cbigs\u201d \u2014 from Remco Evenepoel to Demi Vollering and Van der Poel \u2014 have won in their opening race with form-confirming desolation.<\/p>\n
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Brennan blasts off at KBK<\/h2>\nBrennan\u2019s victory energized the Dutch squad. <\/span> (Photo: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Brennan delivered the biggest jolt of energy the team needed on Sunday by making mincemeat of the reduced bunch in a brutal edition of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.<\/p>\n
With many of the top favorites dropped in harsh and high-watt racing, the sophomore pro left Visma whooping in delight after delivering the perfect sprint coming off Christophe Laporte\u2019s wheel.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe wanted to make it a hard race as a team, and we executed that perfectly. The guys guided me to the front flawlessly,\u201d Brennan said at the line. \u201cChristophe dropped me off at exactly the right moment and made sure the hardest part was done. I still had to finish it off. It\u2019s the first Flemish classic I\u2019ve won, and hopefully not the last.\u201d<\/p>\n
After 12 pro wins in rookie season, Brennan delivered his second \u201cW\u201d in 2026, and perhaps the biggest of his career so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s special to be able to say that I\u2019ve won Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne,\u201d Brennan beamed afterward. \u201cAs a junior, I stood here watching the pros race, so it still needs to sink in. Everyone went above and beyond today. We took the initiative as a team, so I\u2019m incredibly happy that it paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visma knows they have a diamond in the rough with the 20-year-old. Next up are Milan-San Remo before tackling In Flanders Fields, Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>\n
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Jorgenson confirms Ardennes pivot<\/h2>\nJorgenson hits the podium with second in the Faun Drome Classic 2026 (Photo: Billy Ceusters\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
In France, Jorgenson rode aggressively in back-to-back hill races, finishing fourth and second.<\/p>\n
Though he gapped by French wonder boy Paul Seixas on Saturday, he took it to the line Sunday to hit second, this time behind another French promise in Romain Gr\u00e9goire.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecond place is obviously not what I came for, but today I was beaten by a better sprinter,\u201d Jorgenson said at the line. \u201cTactically, we rode a strong race as a team. At one point, we had four riders in the lead group in the finale. That numerical advantage allowed me to accelerate at the right moment, but unfortunately, I just missed out on the win.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The strong showing, however, will bolster Jorgenson\u2019s confidence this spring as he pivots toward the hillier classics this year and away from the pav\u00e9<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Up next are a string of high-voltage dates at Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico (no Paris-Nice defense), Milan-San Remo, and then into the Ardennes with Amstel Gold Race, La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy with my form and the feeling in my first two races of the season,\u201d the Idahoan said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to be on the podium right away. I\u2019m looking forward to the upcoming Italian races on my schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
To win, he\u2019ll be battling Sexias and Poga\u010dar all spring.<\/p>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/vismawvaback.jpg”] Andrew Hood Published March 2, 2026 07:22AM Visma-Lease a Bike snapped out of its sluggish start to 2026 this weekend with some morale-boosting results across Belgium and France this weekend. Matthew Brennan stampeded to a breakout win at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne to open his classics account, and Matteo Jorgenson hit the podium in France. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1802030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1802030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1802030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1802030\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1802030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1802030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1802030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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