Aike Visbeek sees confidence grow in Arnaud De Lie and Jenno Berckmoes

The merged team Lotto-Intermarché is becoming increasingly streamlined. The upcoming Opening Weekend is immediately an important one for team leader Arnaud De Lie, who, like Jenno Berckmoes, falls under the guidance of Aike Visbeek starting this season. The performance manager tells WielerFlits that he has significant expectations of De Lie, who suffered an ankle ligament injury earlier this year. However, he’s not holding him to account this weekend just yet. Berckmoes is also a key focus for the team.

The Bull of Lescheret showed his great talent in his first years as a pro. But in the last two early seasons (2024 and 2025), he wasn’t able to take the final step towards the absolute top in the classics. This season, that must change. “Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, In Flanders Fields (formerly Gent-Wevelgem, ed.), Dwars Door Vlaanderen, and Paris-Roubaix are considered the foundation for the future this spring. Only the Opening Weekend is a borderline case due to that ankle fracture. He feels very good and is marching along very well.”

Visbeek hopes that De Lie’s form is already strong enough to make a mark in OHN and KBK. Lotto-Intermarché’s confidence is growing. “It remains difficult to say what we expect because Arnaud is getting stronger every day. So progress is quite rapid. But we have to settle the score at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to truly see what he can do on the Muur of Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg. In the best case, he could contend for a top-10 in both Kuurne and Omloop. Time is still tight, but Arnaud himself exudes confidence.”

At the Volta ao Algarve, Visbeek saw from the front row that the team around De Lie is in good shape. Among others, Jenno Berckmoes and Huub Artz will ride alongside him this spring. “We really want to compete for the podium spots in the classics that suit Arnaud well. We’re mainly talking about Omloop, Kuurne, Gent-Wevelgem, and Roubaix. These are also the races that suit our team well. That’s where we want to make our presence felt. Whether it’s to win with riders like Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar, I think that’s tough. But we’re going for it.”

New approach
With Visbeek as coach, De Lie’s build-up towards spring is different regardless. “I think I bring clarity and calm with a solid and sound plan,” says the performance manager. “Last year, he raced rather unluckily around the Ster van Bessèges trying to win a stage in the rain. Now, we organized three test and reconnaissance days with an eye on Gent-Wevelgem, Paris-Roubaix, and the Tour of Flanders. Arnaud stepped off his bike with a lot of confidence after we made the equipment choices. He also scouted the classics with his main teammates, which also gives him confidence. That’s a world of difference.”

Meanwhile, neo-pro Mathieu Kockelmann relieved the pressure immediately with his stage win in Bessèges. “A great starting point, that’s what you want: preparing your top riders optimally for the classics, despite Arnaud’s injury. On the other hand, the other guys make sure we win. We kept the classics squad together, further optimized the equipment, and in the Clásica de Almería and Volta ao Algarve, continued building team bonding and form.” De Lie sprinted to two top-6 finishes.

With the new build-up, Visbeek also hopes to remove the inconsistency in the still only 23-year-old Walloon. “We’ve laid out a realistic plan so that Arnaud doesn’t start the season too early anymore, giving him a longer training period. This has allowed him time to go home from Spain in between, instead of being there for two months straight like last year. There’s now a good periodization. The support from his coach Kobe Vermeire and nutritionist Britt Lambrecht is going very well. Additionally, he often rides alongside the same riders: Cédric Beullens, Jenno Berckmoes, Huub Artz, Luca Van Boven, Sebastian Grignard. That helps build routines. Arnaud gains a lot of confidence from that.”

The biggest challenge is gaining trust
That last point is vital for Visbeek. De Lie’s contract – as well as that of co-leader Lennert Van Eetvelt – expires at the end of this year. “We face a big challenge and we don’t have much time,” Visbeek realizes. “That’s why last winter was immediately very important, and I think it went well. We have a very tight timeline to prove ourselves as a merged team. The test and reconnaissance days were also important. The riders could see which choices we’re making and the strategy we’re setting with our equipment. When you see it works and those test days go well, that’s not to be underestimated.”

“For the Lotto riders, it was also the first real introduction to Mikey Van Kreuningen, who was our Head of Equipment at Intermarché-Wanty,” Visbeek continues. “Those are exciting moments. Together with Kurt Dierickx and ⁠⁠Toon Geersheuvel – the former two chief mechanics from Lotto – they laid out the strategies as a trio. Arnaud then stepped off his bike with a lot of confidence. We also see that we can still make real progress with our partners. We have started a new R&D group, and we’ve added a testing engineer. That will play an important role in the development of our team. To say the first choices are good is an understatement.”