Finally good news for Team Visma | Lease a Bike as Christophe Laporte returns to training

One of Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s key riders has been notably absent throughout the spring Classics campaign, Christophe Laporte. The Frenchman, a consistent performer in the one day races in recent seasons, has been side-lined with cytomegalovirus, a condition that kept him off the bike for weeks during one of the busiest parts of the season.

But finally, there’s a sign of better days ahead.

"Slowly, but finally I'm back on the bike," Laporte shared on Instagram, posting a photo from a recent training ride.

His absence has been clearly felt. While the team picked up a major win at Paris-Nice through Matteo Jorgenson and saw teenage talent Matthew Brennan burst onto the scene with an 11th-place finish at Paris-Roubaix, the cobbled Monuments have proved elusive.

Wout van Aert, often the cornerstone of Visma’s spring success, battled to two fourth-place finishes, first at the Tour of Flanders and then again at Paris-Roubaix. Although encouraging signs of form, it means he remains without a victory in one of cycling’s cobbled monuments, despite repeated near-misses.

Elsewhere, Jonas Vingegaard struggled for rhythm earlier this season despite winning the Volta ao Algarve, before he suffered a heavy crash at Paris-Nice, further compounding the team’s disrupted campaign.

Laporte, who was expected to be a key support figure once again this spring, has been sorely missed. His return to training doesn’t come in time to salvage the Classics season, but it does offer hope that he could return to full strength for the summer.