Visma-Lease a Bike sign under-23 world champion Niklas Behrens on three-year deal

Visma-Lease a Bike have signed under-23 road race world champion Niklas Behrens to bolster their squad for 2025 and beyond after his impressive display in Zürich.

The young German cut his teeth as a U23 rider this past season on Lidl-Trek's development team, Future Racing, however, he's to make the step up to WorldTour-level with the Dutch squad on a three-year deal.

"I’m super happy to join Team Visma-Lease a Bike," said Behrens on the team's website. "This is a team I’ve always looked up to due to the high level of professionalism. I’m really looking forward to being part of such a great team."

Behrens won the U23 title in a two-up sprint against Martin Svrček (Soudal-QuickStep) after making the decisive move 11km from the finish in the 173km race and dropping everyone but the Czech rider while also passing solo breakaway Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates).

With his powerfully built frame, Visma hope the 20-year-old can develop as a Classics rider with time-trialling potential and a strong sprint also in his arsenal. 

Even at 195cm (6ft 4in), Behrens showed he could climb with the punchiest U23 riders and drop them after the breathless four-hour race, with those losing out including well-established WT talents Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) and Joseph Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech).

"I hope to discover my true speciality in the coming years with the help of the team," said the German. 

"I believe I can perform well in classics, but I also want to further develop my time-trialing skills. Additionally, I’m not slow in a sprint, which is important for winning races."

He's one of five top under-23 prospects set to bolster the Dutch roster in the coming years, alongside four from Visma's own development team, Matthew Brennan, Menno Huising, Tijmen Graat and Jørgen Nordhagen.

Having confirmed his status as one of the best young riders in the world with victory in Zürich, after impressive displays already this year at the Giro Next Gen and European Championships, Behrens' signature was highly sought after. However, he was also the only rider in the top 12 finishers of the U23 race not to have a WorldTour contract secured for the future, making it a huge win for Visma-Lease a Bike.

"Niklas is a rider with a lot of potential. He caught our attention over the past two years in several races, including the recent Tour de l’Avenir," said Visma DS and compatriot Grischa Niermann. 

"He hasn’t been racing for long and has a lot of progression margin. We are confident that we can guide him to the next step in his still early career."