Another blow for Visma in 2026! Christophe Laporte ruled out of Le Samyn at the last minute

Christophe Laporte will not start Le Samyn on the very day Team Visma | Lease a Bike had hoped to turn the page on a disrupted opening to 2026.

Wout van Aert’s long-awaited return to racing was meant to reset the narrative. Instead, hours before the Belgian one-day race, the team confirmed via social media: “Unfortunately, Christophe Laporte will not be at the start of Le Samyn. He's not feeling 100% fit.”

It is not a dramatic withdrawal. There is no confirmed crash or serious injury. But in the context of Visma’s first two months of the season, it feels painfully familiar.

Laporte’s absence matters. The Frenchman is one of the team’s most reliable Classics operators, capable of both protecting Van Aert deep into a race and finishing strongly himself in selective sprints. On a cobbled course like Le Samyn, that depth is not a luxury. It is part of the structure.

Instead, Visma line up lighter than planned on a day already heavy with expectation.

Van Aert’s return alone carries significance. His winter was derailed by an ankle fracture and subsequent surgery, before illness forced him to miss Opening Weekend. Le Samyn was supposed to mark a clean restart. Now, even that comes with a caveat.

Laporte’s late absence slots into a broader pattern that has shaped Visma’s early 2026 campaign.

Jonas Vingegaard saw his own build-up disrupted by a training crash in Spain and subsequent illness that delayed his season debut. Sepp Kuss was forced out of the Tour of Oman due to illness. Laporte himself abandoned at Ruta del Sol after a crash. Matthew Brennan crashed at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad before producing an immediate response at Kuurne Brussel Kuurne.

None of these incidents alone defines a season. Together, they have repeatedly broken momentum at key moments.

For a team that built its recent dominance on precision planning and collective strength, the timing has been particularly damaging. Leaders have struggled to string together uninterrupted preparation blocks. Supporting riders have missed key race days. Tactical cohesion has been tested earlier than expected.

Le Samyn was meant to be about Van Aert’s comeback. It still is. But once again, Visma arrived at a Belgian cobbled start line adjusting to circumstances rather than executing a clean plan.

In isolation, Laporte not feeling fully fit is minor. In the context of 2026 so far, it reinforces a narrative that refuses to go away.