ANALYSIS - The 5 contenders to fill in the last spot at Visma's Tour de France lineup in support of Jonas Vingegaard

Team Visma | Lease a Bike are on their way to win the 2026 Giro d'Italia, but in the back of their mind is already the Tour de France. Jonas Vingegaard is aiming to retake the yellow jersey from Tadej Pogacar but that is no easy task. Hence, with Christophe Laporte taken out of the '8', who will be replacing him?

Laporte is a rider that has experienced a lot of bad luck in recent years; with a saddle sore taking him out of the 2024 cobbled classics campaign and a crash ending his Giro d'Italia; Whilst in 2025 a viral infection saw him miss out on almost the entire season. He wasn't able to race the spring classics and also the Tour de France; with his first race day coming only in mid-August.

2026 proved not to be too different, with a crash leading to a torn quad muscle. After a strong spring, the Frenchman suffered an injury at a moment of the year where it is mandatory to be healthy and in form, as all of the world's best travel to altitude to prepare for the Tour - except for those, such as Vingegaard, who are racing the Giro d'Italia.

Hence, there are seven riders confirmed to race for Visma at the Tour. Three are currently at the Giro in the form of Vingegaard himself and his right-hand men Victor Campenaerts and Sepp Kuss. Wout Van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, Edoardo Affini and Bruno Armirail were all names that were confirmed to be aiming for the Grand Boucle back in January as the team shared their calendars in La Nucia, Costa Blanca.

So, who will be the eighth rider, to replace Christophe Laporte?

Ben Tulett is perhaps the leading contender to fill in this position. Like a few other riders on the list, he is on the shortlist to race the Vuelta a España. However a position has opened up at the Tour lineup, and Tulett may be the man with the most credentials to be supporting Jonas Vingegaard at the Grand Boucle.

That is because last summer at the Vuelta a España, his work for the Dane was fantastic, thriving in the small but also long climbs of the race, executing his domestique role to perfection. But the 24-year old Briton's momentum has not stopped there, as individually he has also led Visma on several occasions since he joined the team back in 2024.

In 2025 he won the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali whilst this spring he was given freedom to chase his own results at the Ardennes classics after Matteo Jorgenson's injury. Tulett was third at La Flèche Wallonne, a result that cannot be understated; 13th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and then once again third at Eschborn-Frankfurt. Tulett is a rider that is best adapted to the smaller climbs, but that can make him even more useful in a lineup where there are no puncheurs. However in the high mountains, the team can have the confidence that he will also deliver.

Per Strand Hagenes is one of the revelations of this season. His breakthrough didn't come as a major surprise, only what looked to be inevitable, but this spring the Norwegian rider achieved the best results of his career. Where Wout Van Aert was present, Hagenes was a domestique, and he did so in the best way he could.

When he was given the freedom to lead, he thrived. At the GP de Denain he infamously attacked together with Alec Segaert, but cracked in the final kilometers as his rival then rode to victory. But the 22-year old's form was stupendous and he proved that by finishing second to Mathieu van der Poel the week after - the proof that he had finally reached the top of the sport.

The 22-year old, just this weekend, has won the Antwerp Port Epic. When you connect the dots, he may actually be Visma's choice - even if, like Tulett, he is written down for the Vuelta. Hagenes is a classics specialist just like Laporte. Now, he does not have the experience of racing a Grand Tour; nor much with positioning climbers.

That is an obstacle, and the Dutch team may not want to take the risk with a rider who hasn't proven himself in that regard yet. But the truth is that he is a diamond in the rough with immense potential and power, that has been proven. If riders like Vingegaard himself, Wout Van Aert and Victor Campenaerts can guide him, it is possible that he will fit in the role quite well and quickly. A risk, but with high reward.

Nordhagen is the alternative to Ben Tulett. Both of these riders face one obstacle: Laporte was a classics specialist, the team planned out the lineup thinking of what he could give to the team. Hence, the team may not feel the desire or need to have another climber. But the truth is they have options, and they have Nordhagen who has been termed the 'mini Vingegaard' for years due to their physical similarities and also similarities on the bike.

But Nordhagen is also a rider without a Grand Tour to his name until today, something which was initially planned for the Vuelta a España. But in a supporting role, he can perhaps learn much more from joining the Tour block as a whole and the team throughout the three weeks. On a long-term evolution point of view, there may be no issue.

UAE and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe will have plenty cards for the mountains, and Visma may need the same; and perhaps in Nordhagen they may have the best. He was 8th at the UAE Tour, second to Adam Yates at O Gran Camiño and also fourth at the recent Tour de Romandie where Tadej Pogacar took the overall win. In Romandie, his level was incredibly high, it feels like in 2026 he is also taking a step.

Nordhagen is an excellent climber who has the potential to also do a lot in the future, but already the present. Like Simon Yates last year, the team have the space to give freedom to a rider to stay out positioning fights throughout the race, and then come to the front in the mountains when it is really necessary. This can be a perfect position for Nordhagen, who has also raced a full spring and is now taking a break before his summer block of racing, which makes it fully viable for him to perfectly prepare for the Tour.

In 2025 Axel Zingle was signed by Visma and left a very good first impression at Paris-Nice; where he sprinted to top results on several stages and also managed to be a key support rider for Matteo Jorgenson's overall win. At the Vuelta a España, his domestique work was set to be tested fully, however it ended very early on after a crash.

Zingle is a puncheur who can sprint, a good rider to support Wout Van Aert's ambitions; but perhaps the one who can do the least out of this list for Vingegaard. But he can't be excluded. In Laporte, Visma were not bringing a leader to the Tour, but a rider who was set to do work at the head of the peloton. Zingle can do that, and his ability to go over the short climbs, and his experience in the classics makes him a valuable asset for the tense days where the overall classification contenders will be forced to constantly fight for positioning. Aside from that, he is the French alternative to Laporte, which may have a say in this choice.

Owain Doull is perhaps the least prestigious name on this list but is perhaps the one that resembles Christophe Laporte the most. The Frenchman would fill in a position of positioning duties for Vingegaard as well as potentially supporting Wout Van Aert in a few sprint or hilly stages.

Doull is a rider who is an experienced road captain, with almost 10 years at World Tour level, and was signed on a two-year deal with Visma this winter meaning he has specific work to do. He is a very valuable rider for the team, as he raced through the cobbled classics and the Ardennes with a clear role: Position the team's leaders. Yes the team has the firepower in other men, but the importance of staying well positioned cannot be underestimated at a time where crashes are more and more frequent.

If the team is looking to bring in a rouleur to step in for Laporte, and a man that will be able to spend long hours at the head of the peloton, they might have the ideal rider in Doull.

The decision should come out to the public soon, aided by the riders' current training program at Sierra Nevada.