"Huge disappointment" - Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Vingegaard dealt major Tour de France blow as Laporte ruled out
CyclingThursday, 14 May 2026 at 23:00
Team Visma | Lease a Bike have been dealt a major blow ahead of the Tour de France after Cristophe Laporte suffered a training crash and has been ruled out of the Grand Tour. The 33-year-old will be off the bike for the coming weeks after a quadriceps tear, representing a major disruption to the team's plans ahead of July.
Laporte enjoyed an encouraging spring classics campaign after a disrupted 2025 season. He picked up multiple top ten finishes, including fifth at Paris-Roubaix, ninth in Tour of Flanders and a fourth place finish at Omloop Nieuwsblad. The Frenchman had pinned the Tour de France as a key race, where he would be an important versatile domestique for Jonas Vingegaard.
However, medical examinations confirmed he faces a period off the bike to fully recover from his injuries, meaning that the team will have to re-shuffle the pack as the Barcelona Grand Depart fast approaches.
A team statement confirmed: "Medical examinations have shown that Laporte will not be allowed to train in the coming weeks in order to fully recover from the injury. As a result, he will also miss the Tour de l’Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Tour de France. Laporte’s focus in the coming period will be entirely on recovery and a careful rehabilitation process."
Laporte admits 'huge disappointment'
Laporte battled a Cytomegalovirus infection that kept him out of much of the 2025 season. He did, however, return last August and raced the likes of the Canadian classics and the NIBC Tour of Holland.
“Obviously, this is a huge disappointment. I had a strong spring classics campaign and was ready to start preparing for the Tour de France," Laporte said. "Of course, I was really looking forward to the upcoming races, especially the Tour de France. Right now, the focus is fully on recovery so I can come back as soon as possible.”
Team Visma | Lease a Bike aren't short of options as they hope to help Vingegaard - currently riding the Giro d'Italia - claim his third crown. Paris-Roubaix champion Wout Van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss and Bruno Armirail are among the teammates likely to be part of the line-up.
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- They need a bike with a hose on so they can soak these pr*cks. Wont affect the flare, but might make the people think twice. Since they obviously only care about themselves.antipodeanpedalfan15-05-2026
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Rafionain-Glas14-05-2026 - You didn’t get it, it was a (sarcastic) dig at certain people’s tendency to copyright anything they can and then attack anyone they can for « infringement ». Anyone now using the letter x for any purpose other than writing words should be aware of the potential consequences.Mistermaumau14-05-2026
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