Wout Van Aert and his Vimaris a Bike team, which will be making its Giro d'Italia debut in May, are looking for a way to balance the Belgian star's own success with a sprint competition against Olaf Kooij, who will also be making his debut in the race ...

Last season's Tour of Britain was the first time the two were paired up in a stage race, and Van Aert led Kooij to four stage wins and the overall victory.

The Giro will give the 22-year-old Kooi'i a win, and he will also have his own stage sights set on newcomer Sian Uitdebroeks as he takes on the GC. Juan Art said that the Giro route has "a lot of interesting stages" and that he and Couey could rack up wins during their time in Italy.

"There are a lot of interesting stages. Olaf is there for the group sprint, and if it gets a little tricky, I'm there. That way you have a lot of chances to win the stage," Van Aert told In De Leiderstrui. [If Olaf survives the climb and can sprint with him, his chances of winning are higher than if he sprints with me in a small group. If we win as a team, I don't care who we are with. The better Olaf climbs, the better for the team. We start the Giro with a good plan, but a good Olaf will be an advantage."

Van Aat said he would not be selfish during the Giro, stating that the motto of Visma Lease-a-Bike is to make sacrifices for others, even if, as a superstar, he has the right to expect otherwise.

"There are two things about this team. We don't want that at all. On this team, we will never run a Grand Tour with a mediocre team. There are always strong guys who will take you to the finals and control the race. So to be the leader of a team like this is an honor for me and for Olaf."

"We rode [together] in the Tour of Britain and it went pretty well. The Giro will be on a completely different level, but on the days I ride for Olav, the whole team will help him. The stages that suit me are the same."

"I don't know if the Tour of Britain was a tryout for the team. I myself have been talking about the 2024 Giro for some time, but it all came together in various meetings."

Kooi, on the other hand, admitted that the Belgian has not targeted the flat sprint much in the past year or so, although van Aal himself is no stranger to flat sprint success. He feels he has a higher top end, and it makes sense that Van Aart, "the perfect lead-out," would take him to the line.

"Wout is a little less mixed in pure group sprints after winning the green jersey at the 2022 Tour. I think I have a little more top speed at maximum speed," Kooi said.

"He's a perfect leadout. I couldn't ask for more. We've actually raced together very little, but when we have raced together we've almost always done well. We don't race together much for the Giro, but we can feel each other in the race. Wout has the physical ability to get an overview in the final and to ride in the wind, for example.

"There are a lot of stages for Wout during this time. There are five or six interesting sprint opportunities for me. Wout has also won the Ventoux and the time trial, so there are still plenty of stages where he has a chance."

"Wout is a very good sprinter.

In other words, there should be no problem splitting the stages between the two men, and it seems unlikely that there will be any bickering among the teams over stage wins. There is, however, the problem of the peloton's rivals (especially Tadei Pogachar, who is making his Giro debut).

The opening stage will be Van Aat's chance to get his first Giro win and the maglia rosa. But he said Pogachal's decision to compete only complicated that plan.

"The first stage had already been changed," he said. "They put a steep climb in the last five kilometers, and two days later they announced that Pogachal would be competing. So it would be hard to beat him there."