Wout van Aert has commented on the shock departure of Grischa Niermann from Visma-Lease a Bike, which was announced earlier this week, saying that while he too was surprised, he doesn't think it will be a major blow.
Niermann was in the car behind Van Aert during his Paris-Roubaix victory just a few months ago, but as he returns to road racing for the first time since then at the renamed Critérium du Dauphiné – now the Tour-Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes – that may have been his last race with the head of racing.
Visma confirmed that Niermann would be leaving the team on Tuesday, and while this won't officially happen until August 31, after which he will join Lidl-Trek, CEO Richard Plugge confirmed that he wouldn't be part of the Tour de France or the Dauphiné, and will instead play a background role until his last day.
"When I heard the news, I was naturally surprised," Van Aert told Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday near Grenoble, the first big-name rider to comment on the news.
"When I joined the team in 2019, Grischa was already part of the team. Grischa and I had a very good bond; we worked together for a very long time, and I would have liked to continue working with him. Naturally, that is unfortunate news to receive."
Stepping up in Niermann's place will be Marc Reef, for the upcoming Tour and fully from September 1 onwards, and Van Aert echoed the words of Plugge from Tuesday's announcement, with confidence that the structures in place at Visma mean this transition won't be much of a blow.
"[This change] will obviously have an impact. Everyone works differently. Marc is going to fill that role in his own way," he said of Reef, who most recently guided Jonas Vingegaard to the Giro title as the lead DS.
"The culture within the team is more important. Richard [Plugge] is right about that. The past proves that as well. As a team, we have set up an organization in which we try to train people.
"I am really not afraid that it will all collapse like a house of cards here."
Niermann is the next big name to leave Visma's staff structure in recent years, after Grand Tour mastermind Merijn Zeeman left for a job at football club AZ Alkmaar, and Vingegaard's coach Tim Heemskerk left the team only to join Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe a few months later.
Van Aert downplayed this as any kind of pattern to take note of, however, highlighting the difference in all three individual cases: “You have to look at every story in its context. It is different every time. I really am not worried about the future," he said.
His eyes will surely be on a week of racing build-up now at the Tour-Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where he should have at least one shot at a stage win, while also looking to support Matteo Jorgenson.
Van Aert was slightly bandaged up at the start on his right elbow and knee, with Het Laatste Nieuws reporting that he had crashed in training. This wasn't a big issue, though, with the Belgian rolling off the start line in Vizille without complication.
"I can't hide it," he said before the start. "It was a moment of inattention during training. Suddenly I lost my grip on the handlebars and ended up on the ground. It's okay though, otherwise I wouldn't have started here."
