Visma-Lease a Bike have signed Britain’s Dan McLay as a vital leadout man for sprinter Olav Kooij after the expected return of Mike Teunissen fell through and he signed with Astana Qazaqstan.
32-year-old McLay was Arnaud Démare’s lead out man at Arkéa-B&B Hotels but his contract was not extended as the French team tried to cut costs.
McLay’s arrival at Visma-Lease a Bike means the Dutch WorldTour team still has one place to fill if it decides to reach the maximum team size of 30 riders. However, in 2024, the team made do with 28 riders.
“Dan McLay’s experience and skills align perfectly with our goals, and we are confident that he will make a significant impact. He is a very experienced lead-out, and that’s exactly what we were looking for,” senior directeur sportif Grischa Niermann said.
“In particular, he has executed some impressive lead-outs for Démare in the Tour, and we hope that he can do the same for Olav Kooij in our team next season.”
McLay turned professional with Bretagne-Séché Environnement in 2015 and has raced for the French squad every season since apart from a two-year spell at EF in 2018 and 2019.
He has won ten times and secured numerous placings during his career but has transitioned into a lead-out role in recent years.
His experience in the Classics could see McLay also play a role in the Visma-Lease a Classics group that includes Wout van Aert, Christophe Laporte and the USA’s Matteo Jorgenson.
“I am looking forward to joining the team. Team Visma-Lease a Bike has a great track record in developing riders and despite being on the older end of the development curve I still think there is room to improve,” said McClay.
“My ambitions are to do the best job possible for the team and specifically in the lead-out for Olav.”
