Taco van der Hoorn may have been preparing for months to catch up after his breakthrough in the Cune Brussel Cune, but for Christophe Laporte, the same breakmate and eighth-place finisher, his debut result in the Jumbo Visma was more of a preparation It was insufficient.

The Frenchman moved to the 2022 Dutch team to support Classics leader Wout Van Aert through the spring. However, a COVID-19 infection in January delayed his season debut, and while Van Aert won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Laporte missed him by a day.

In the end, he, Van der Hoorn, and Honatan Narvaez were caught less than 50 meters from the finish line in the 195 km race, with Fabio Jacobsen (Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl) leading the sprinters.

"I believed [in the win]," Laporte said later after receiving his €2,500 prize money on the podium for leading the first race across the finish line.

"I didn't make too many mistakes. I just had a little success. I just finished three weeks of high altitude training with the team. I was supposed to compete in Omloop, but unfortunately I got COVID-19 in January and that delayed my preparation."

"I arrived a week late to the camp, so I stayed longer and came back on Friday. I decided to limit myself to the Kuhne-Brussel Kuhne. Anyway, Wout didn't need me yesterday to win."

With 21 wins to his credit, Laporte is no stranger to sprints, but he was unable to hold off the faster riders at the finish of the Kuhne on Sunday. He was taking turns leading the breakaway group while Jacobsen and second-place finisher Caleb Yuan (Lotto Soudal) took refuge in the peloton.

"One more person, maybe ...... Well, that's easier said than done."

"It's hard to beat Fabio Jacobsen and Caleb Yuan in a sprint. The team had a plan. I was in front because I like to attack. I didn't win today, but I had a lot of fun.

Despite a last minute disappointment when Laporte was caught near the finish, Jumbo Visma was one of the happiest teams in the peloton after the opening weekend.

Team leader Van Art took a dominant victory at Omloop Het Newsblad without having raced beforehand.

"I thought it was possible, but the real sprinters were really fast. It's a shame." After the race, Maarten Winantz of Jumbo Visma said, "It's a shame. It's kind of a shame."

"But I'll leave you with the good parts of today. Christophe Laporte was the strongest today. And yesterday was the strongest of the day. All the riders did really well."

Weinanz specifically cited Benoot as the team's "little missing link" in the Spring Classic, noting that he would not compare him to his rival who won in the Coone, the Classic powerhouse Quick Step Alphavinil.

"We don't compare. We don't want to be on the same level as Quick Step. We want to be at the highest level possible for us, and if that is the highest level in the peloton, that is the best. But we look at ourselves, and that's the most important thing.

"Especially for a lot of the guys from the mountains, it's their first race. It's a big confidence booster."