Visma-Lease a Bike have said that the enforced absence of their leading Omloop Het Nieuwsblad contender Wout van Aert does not mean extra pressure on sprinter Matthew Brennan's shoulders in the race, although they have recognised that the 20-year-old Briton will have to quickly adapt to the added importance he'll take on for the team.
The 2022 winner of Omloop and reputedly in top form after a long spell at altitude this winter, Van Aert had been expected to head the opposition against top favourite Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech). However, that idea was poleaxed after the Belgian star came down with a flu-like infection earlier this week and was forced to cancel his participation.
Previously set to race Nieuwsblad as a foil to Van Aert, suddenly Brennan has been pushed into the sole limelight for a team that has won the high-profile WorldTour Classic on three of its last four editions.
The team will also be lacking Matteo Jorgenson, a powerhouse for Visma in previous editions of Omloop during the race, if not posited as an actual contender, as the American has switched his March program from Paris-Nice to Tirreno-Adriatico. As a result, his usual participation in Omloop has been scratched, but Visma remain optimistic that with the return of Christophe Laporte to the line-up after a two-year absence, Jorgenson won't be missed as much.
At the centre of it all is Brennan, already taking a much more leading role in Visma-Lease a Bike after the exit of Olav Kooij from the team in the offseason for Decathlon CMA CGM.
Asked by Cyclingnews if Brennan's centre-stage role represented extra pressure or an extra opportunity, Visma CEO Richard Plugge said simply "Both."
"For Matthew, this is one big steep learning curve, and this [riding as sole leader] will add to that. But we don't ask anything from him in the race itself; there's no pressure from our side. Everything that he's doing right now is our way to get him to learn some more."
After his 12 wins in the first season of his career, Plugge confirmed that Brennan simply repeating such a standout year as 2025 would be more than enough to keep him satisfied.
"100 per cent. He's such a young guy, we have to give him room and space to grow and to develop; we have no expectations. It's not like that we now suddenly think he's going to be competing with the top WorldTour riders."
That said, if Brennan is expected to substitute Wout van Aert in the short term when it comes to Visma-Lease a Bike in Omloop, in the future, there is speculation, not confirmed yet by the team, that he may end up being confirmed as the replacement for now-departed Dutch sprinter Olav Kooij.
Asked if the two could be compared, Plugge said it was difficult, "because they are both very good riders. Of course, Olav is also able to race the Classics, and they are both very fast in the sprints, but maybe Matthew is a bit more complete, more of an allrounder."
As for what Brennan's best quality was as a racer, Plugge said that there was an untranslatable Dutch word meaning "smart, knowing how to move in the right moments, knowing where to be the right time" that summed him up the best. "And he's a fast learner, too. A lot of young riders are these days, of course, but Matthew is one of them, for sure."
Apart from Van Aert, another significant absence for Visma on Saturday will be Matteo Jorgenson, although, as head sports director Grischa Niermann put it in a press conference, a plan B is waiting in the wings.
"In terms of pure power, Matteo was not one of our riders for the win, but he was one of the strongest guys in Omloop last year and certainly our strongest rider in Opening Weekend. So not having him is a loss for sure.
"But on the other hand, we have [former Gent-Wevelgem winner] Christophe Laporte coming back for the first time in two years, and he's always been a presence in the Classics, and he will be good on Saturday. He'll be ready to give it a go.
"So, of course, we will miss Matteo, but in general, we won't have a weaker team."
The top rider, Niermann confirmed, remains Brennan regardless of the other changes in the line-up. "If the race comes down to a sprint, it's no secret that Matthew is our rider. He's probably our best card."
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