“I had long COVID, which is why I haven't been able to race” - Visma signing opens up on lost spring after missing Ardennes Classics

The first months of Louis Barré’s time at Team Visma | Lease a Bike were supposed to mark a step forward after a breakthrough 2025. Instead, they have been defined by frustration, missed targets and a complete reset, with the Frenchman only finishing his first race of the season at the start of May.

Signed with a clear role in mind, Barré was brought in to strengthen the team’s options for the Ardennes Classics. Those plans never materialised. “The integration into the team was actually going really well, so I'm frustrated by what happened,” Barré said in conversation with IDL Pro Cycling. “Above all, missing the Ardennes Classics was painful. That was a real main goal, for both me and the team.”

The explanation for his absence is as stark as it is disruptive. “I had long COVID, which is basically why I haven't been able to race,” Barré explained, outlining how an issue that initially went undiagnosed steadily took hold during the early part of the season. “I started having symptoms in early February, but at first we didn't know it was long COVID. I just kept getting ill — it was two weeks training, one week sick, every single time.”

That stop start pattern prevented any meaningful progression and quickly wiped out the structure of his spring. Even when he attempted to race in late February at the Faun-Ardèche Classic and Faun Drôme Classic, the effort only set him back further.

“At the start of April we decided to pull the plug, and I stayed off the bike for ten days so the body could really reset,” he said, describing the moment both rider and team accepted that the original plan had to be abandoned.

Barré’s return finally came at Eschborn-Frankfurt on 1 May, where he was able to complete a race for the first time this season. The result itself was secondary, but the simple act of getting through the day marked a turning point. “An important indication of what is still to come,” he said, offering a measured view of a comeback that remains in its early stages.

There is no attempt to rush the process. While he has been able to resume training, the effects of the disrupted spring are still evident. “From the moment I started training again, I picked it up quickly. But I'm talking about two or three weeks, so I'm not completely certain yet. After three hours I still feel some fatigue creeping in, for example.”

With that in mind, the focus has shifted entirely. The Tour de France is already off the table, and the rest of the season has been reframed around gradual progression rather than immediate results.

“If everything goes well, I hope to be racing again in the coming weeks and also to be in good shape for the French national championships,” Barré said. “I won't be doing the Tour in any case, so after that I think races like the Clásica San Sebastián, the Canadian races and the Italian autumn classics could be great goals for me. But first of all I just hope to get fit again.”

For now, the priority is simple. After a spring that never really began, Barré is starting again from May, with the challenge no longer about delivering on expectations, but rebuilding a season that illness brought to a halt before it ever had the chance to take shape.