Tiesj Benoot

Benoot turned professional with the Belgian UCI World Tour team Lotto–Soudal in 2015, after riding for the Lotto–Belisol U23 outfit in 2013 and 2014, and riding some races as a stagiaire in autumn 2014.[5]

Benoot made an instant impact in the professional ranks by placing fifth in his first Tour of Flanders.[6] Later in the season he showed his abilities in stage races, finishing second overall behind Greg Van Avermaet at the 2015 Tour of Belgium.[6] He also claimed three top-10 finishes in stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Benoot at the 2017 Tour de France

Benoot showed climbing ability at the 2017 Critérium du Dauphiné, where he finished 12th overall.[7] In June 2017, he was named in the startlist for the 2017 Tour de France.[8] Benoot finished 20th overall in his first Grand Tour.

Benoot won his first professional race in March 2018, soloing to victory in the UCI World Tour's Strade Bianche in torrential rain after attacking from a chasing group to catch leaders Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and Wout van Aert (Vérandas Willems–Crelan) before dropping them in the final sector of dirt roads. Benoot soloed to victory by 39 seconds ahead of Bardet.[9]

In August 2018, he was named in the startlist for the 2018 Vuelta a España.[10]

In August 2019, Benoot signed an initial two-year deal with Team Sunweb starting from 2020.[2] He finished second overall at the 2020 Paris–Nice, winning a stage and the points classification.[11][12] Following the COVID-19 pandemic-enforced suspension of racing, Benoot took top-ten finishes at Liège–Bastogne–Liège (eighth) and the Tour of Flanders (tenth).[13][14] He also extended his contract with the team until the end of the 2022 season in August 2020.[15] Benoot took no wins in 2021, with a best result of fifth overall at Paris–Nice.[16]

Benoot at the 2022 Tour de France

In December 2021, Benoot was released from his Team DSM contract a year early, and subsequently signed a two-year deal with Team Jumbo–Visma starting from 2022.[4] He made his first start with the team at February's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad,[17] and recorded his first top-ten finish with ninth at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic the following month.[18] He finished second at Dwars door Vlaanderen, having attacked the lead group in the final two kilometres, before being out-sprinted by Mathieu van der Poel at the finish in Waregem.[19] With team leader Wout van Aert sidelined due to COVID-19, Benoot shared team leadership of Team Jumbo–Visma for the following weekend's Tour of Flanders,[20] with Christophe Laporte; Laporte finished ninth while Benoot was thirteenth.[21] The following weekend, Benoot finished third in the Amstel Gold Race,[22] having attacked from the main group in the final kilometre of the race. Team Jumbo-Visma had a historic performance in the 2022 Tour de France. Benoot played a key role supporting the team leaders, especially as injuries and abandons took their toll throughout the race.[23] He survived the race and crossed the finish line in triumph with his surviving teammates.