Visma–Lease a Bike is a Dutch professional bicycle racing team, successor of the former Rabobank. The team consists of four sections: ProTeam, Women's Team, Development Team, and cyclo-cross.
The Ardennes classics are three cycling classics held in mid-April in the Belgian Ardennes and southern Limburg in the Netherlands: Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race. First held in 1892, 1936 and 1966 respectively, the races are notable for their hilly courses, and often have similar riders competing for the top positions as the races are held closely following each other. Cyclists that are specialized in these hilly courses are known as puncheurs. In recent years, the three classics have been held within an 8-day timeframe.
Michael James Matthews is an Australian professional road and track cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Jayco–AlUla.
Sonny Colbrelli is an Italian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2012 to 2022.
Mathieu van der Poel is a Dutch professional cyclist who rides for the UCI WorldTeam Alpecin–Deceuninck. He competes in the cyclo-cross, mountain biking and road racing disciplines of the sport.
Julian Alaphilippe is a French professional road cyclist, former cyclo-cross racer and two-time UCI World Road Champion, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Soudal–Quick-Step. He is the brother of racing cyclist Bryan Alaphilippe.
Wout van Aert is a Belgian professional road and cyclo-cross racer who rides for UCI WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike. Van Aert is a three-time winner of the men's race at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, having won in consecutive years in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The 2015 Amstel Gold Race was the 50th edition of the Amstel Gold Race one-day race. It took place on 19 April and was the eleventh race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The Amstel Gold Race formed part of the Ardennes classics season, although it took place in the Limburg region of the Netherlands rather than in the Belgian Ardennes. It took place in the week before La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the other principal Ardennes classics. The defending champion in the 2015 edition of the race was Philippe Gilbert, who had won the race three times and had also won the 2012 world championships on a very similar course.
Tiesj Benoot is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Visma–Lease a Bike.
Thomas Pidcock is a British cyclist who currently competes in the cyclo-cross, mountain bike and road bicycle racing disciplines of the sport for UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers.
The fourth edition of the Amstel Gold Race for Women was a road cycling one-day race held on 16 April 2017 in the Netherlands. It was the sixth event of the 2017 UCI Women's World Tour. The race started in Maastricht and finished in Berg en Terblijt, containing 17 categorized climbs, covering a total distance of 121.6 km. It was won by Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen.
Remco Evenepoel is a Belgian professional cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Soudal–Quick-Step.
The 2019 season for the Team Jumbo–Visma road cycling team which began in January at the Tour Down Under. As a UCI WorldTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.
The 104th edition of the Tour of Flanders one-day cycling classic was held on 18 October 2020, as the 20th event of the 2020 UCI World Tour. The race started in Antwerp and finished in Oudenaarde, Belgium, covering a distance of 241 km. Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands won the race, just ahead of Belgian Wout van Aert.
The 2021 Gent–Wevelgem was a road cycling classic race that took place on 28 March 2021 in Belgium. It was the 83rd edition of Gent–Wevelgem and the 10th event of the 2021 UCI World Tour.
The 2022 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is a road cycling one-day race that took place on 26 February 2022 in Belgium, starting in Gent and finishing in Ninove. It was the 77th edition of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the second event of the 2022 UCI World Tour.
The 2022 Amstel Gold Race was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 10 April 2022 in the Netherlands. It was the 56th edition of the Amstel Gold Race and the 14th event of the 2022 UCI World Tour. The race was won by Michał Kwiatkowski in a photo finish with Benoît Cosnefroy.
The 2022 Liège–Bastogne–Liège was a Belgian road cycling one-day race that took place on 24 April 2022 and was won by Remco Evenepoel. It was the 108th edition of Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the 17th event of the 2022 UCI World Tour.
The cycling rivalry between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel is considered among the greatest and longest lasting rivalries in the sport, being contemporaries and contesting each other for the first time when they were both 8 years old.They raced each other for the first time in a major event in the 2012 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's junior race and continuously since October 2013, originally in cyclo-cross and as their ambitions grew further also in the road racing discipline. The supporters of both riders, the Belgian media and later worldwide sports journalists began comparing one another regarding track record, racing style and personality.
