"Balance between Jonas and Wout" - Visma will support both leaders at the 2026 Tour de France

Wout Van Aert is heading to the Tour de France to support Jonas Vingegaard, however he can also fight for his own results. And as shown this Thursday at the Tour Auvergne-Rhônes-Alpes, the Belgian is also back to his winning ways, earning that right.

“He had already shown yesterday that he was fast. But again, we had to ride very hard behind the breakaway," team DS Maarten Wynants said in a post-race interview with In de Leiderstrui. But with the breakaway under control and caught well before the finish in Villars-les-Dombes, the win was up for grabs.

The final sprint was much less chaotic than a regular one, with the headwind and lack of tactical features not sparking the usual fight for positioning. But inside the final kilometer the speed was very high, with the Visma men up front, who kept Van Aert hidden from the wind and sudden accelerations.

“When they were on the front, I felt it would be very difficult to come past them. The wind was coming from the front left, so anyone trying to pass had to come around on the exposed side as well.” It ended up being the perfect set up, and the Belgian then had the legs to finish it off.

Team Visma | Lease a Bike go into the Tour with the goal of winning the yellow jersey with Jonas Vingegaard, but ultimately there will also be plenty stages where Van Aert can take the responsibility over chasing results.

“We will have to wait and see. The most important thing is to keep the balance between Jonas and Wout. If those goals do not conflict, then it is certainly possible.” Last year, the latter won on stage 21, taking a win in style at the Champs-Élysées.

“It is too early to say he will contest the flat sprints. With all respect to the riders here, the Tour will have a different level of sprinter. There will be riders who are naturally much faster," Wynants concluded.