Team Visma | Lease a Bike are heading into the Flemish spring without having to compromise between experience and emergence. Instead of choosing between the present and the future, the Dutch squad are preparing to race with both at once. Wout van Aert remains the rider every rival watches. Matthew Brennan is quickly becoming the rider nobody can ignore—and that is entirely by design.
Visma ready to play the Brennan card
Visma have no intention of keeping Brennan in the background during the 2026 classics campaign. Speaking to Sporza, head of development Robbert de Groot made the team’s approach clear.
“We won’t hesitate to play Brennan in the classics when we see an opportunity to do so,” De Groot said.
The initial objective will be to get Brennan deep into race finales, where he can support established leaders such as Van Aert. From there, Visma are open to seeing how much more the young rider can deliver. It is a deliberate shift away from a rigid hierarchy toward a more flexible, aggressive structure.
Rather than one rider waiting for his turn, Visma want pressure coming from multiple directions at once.
Van Aert remains the focal point
Van Aert’s role in the Flemish spring needs little explanation. He has already set out his ambitions clearly.
“In the spring, I want to be there from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad all the way through to Roubaix,” Van Aert said in Visma’s 2026 team presentation. “I want to show myself everywhere and seize every opportunity that comes my way.”
That statement alone shapes how races unfold. Rivals mark Van Aert from the moment the flag drops. Teams design their tactics around limiting his freedom. Any move he makes draws an immediate reaction from the peloton.
Why Brennan makes Visma even more dangerous
That intense focus on Van Aert is precisely what gives Brennan room to operate. While the classics specialists keep their eyes locked on Visma’s star, Brennan can slip into moves, survive deep into finals, and force rivals into difficult choices.
For Visma, this is the ideal scenario. Van Aert remains the obvious threat, the rider everyone expects to decide the race. Brennan, meanwhile, becomes the variable—young, aggressive, and increasingly capable of turning opportunities into results.
As the Flemish classics approach, Visma | Lease a Bike are not choosing between now and what comes next. They are bringing both to the start line, ready to shape races from more than one angle.
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