© BELGA
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After Ilan Van Wilder, Tiesj Benoot will also leave Team DSM early. Our 27-year-old compatriot broke his contract with the Dutch-German cycling team in mutual consultation and started working for Jumbo-Visma, the team of Wout van Aert.
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Maarten Delvaux and Bram Vandecapelle
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Tiesj Benoot made the switch from Lotto Soudal to Team DSM two seasons ago. In black-and-white wages, he finished second in Paris-Nice last year, eighth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and tenth in the Tour of Flanders. This season, he finished fifth in the “Race to the sun” and also achieved places of honor in the Flemish and Walloon classics. But as the season progressed, the relationship with the team became more and more tense.
Benoot and Team DSM now found a gallant way out together. Our compatriot’s contract was terminated. “During the 2021 season, it became clear that Benoot was unable to keep its promises, which was reflected in performance both on and off the bike,” Team DSM reports. “In favor of a positive dynamic within the riders and staff of Team DSM, the team has therefore cooperated in the termination of Benoot’s agreement. Tiesj is a gifted rider with a great athletic ability, who can perform on many terrains. As a member of Team DSM, he has delivered a great performance for which Team DSM is very grateful to him.”
Officially, Benoot also keeps it very polite. “I have good memories here at Team DSM, with some great opportunities and I have learned a lot. It’s fun to be part of this team, but it’s also demanding. That is not negative towards the team; the many staff and specialists, as well as teammates are all very passionate, which is why riders can get a lot out of themselves. I just couldn’t quite get it together. I wish the team, my colleagues and teammates all the best.”
Long list of departures from Team DSM
Benoot is not the first rider who cannot settle in with the headstrong Team DSM. The German-Dutch team is known for its progressive scientific guidance, in which mainly young riders manifest themselves enormously. In the past, the contracts of Marcel Kittel, Warren Barguil, Edward Theuns, Tom Dumoulin, Michael Matthews and Marc Hirschi have already been dissolved. Recently, our young compatriot Ilan Van Wilder also canceled his contract with Team DSM and opted for Deceuninck – Quick-Step.
Tiesj Benoot moves to Team Jumbo-Visma. Our editors learned this from a good source. There he becomes a welcome reinforcement in the core around Wout van Aert. Team boss Merijn Zeeman said last week: “In principle, our team is ready, but we can still make room for exceptional opportunities.” So Zeeman was referring to Benoot.
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