“I’ll be riding the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France” – Victor Campenaerts locked in as Jonas Vingegaard’s key lieutenant for 2026
Cycling
Victor Campenaerts is not talking about chasing his own glory in 2026. He is talking about service.
“I’ll be riding the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, aiming to support Jonas and the team as best as I can,” he said in Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s press release setting out his plans.
Two Grand Tours. One clear role. After what he showed in 2025, that is no small vote of trust.
For the full picture of how Campenaerts fits into Visma’s wider 2026 structure alongside Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert and the rest of the squad, see our main hub: Visma confirm full 2026 plans of Van Aert, Vingegaard, Jorgenson and more.
Why he came back
Campenaerts did not return to Visma by accident. “When my ambitions changed and I wanted to be part of a team competing for victory in a Grand Tour, I reached out,” he said. “From that moment on, everything went smoothly.”
He had left the team in 2017 on good terms and stayed in touch with his former coach Mathieu Heijboer. When he wanted to move from personal projects to collective ambition, Visma was the natural call.
Even so, the first months took adjustment. “Most of the riders were new to me,” he said. “But spending a lot of time together and winning Paris Nice with roughly the same lineup as in the Tour de France helped me integrate quickly.”
By July, he felt at home. And at the Tour, he felt something else.
Campenaerts was one of Visma's unsung heroes of 2025
The Tour that changed his reputation
For Campenaerts, the 2025 Tour de France was the highlight of his season. “On stage four, I realised I was really in top form,” he said. “Grischa Niermann told me that morning to take the lead at a tricky point in the finale and make a selection. I managed to do that, which gave me an enormous confidence boost.”
That stage was a signal. Campenaerts was no longer just a time trial specialist or breakaway engine. He was shaping Grand Tour stages at key moments.
Over the race, he animated transitions, drove hard in finales, and came within touching distance of a stage win himself. On one day he finished second, beaten only by a late solo move. He was also deep into the mountains far longer than most expected. “I think my performances surprised a lot of people,” he said. “But above all, they surprised me.”
He admitted that climbing at that level was new territory. “I never expected I could perform so well on the climbs.”
For Visma, that was not just impressive. It was useful.
Why he is now a lieutenant
Campenaerts does not talk about ego. He talks about trust. “The main reason I did so well was the trust the team gave me,” he said. “That provides so much motivation to push past the pain barrier and keep going.”
At the Tour, that trust meant being asked to take responsibility at dangerous moments, to thin the peloton, to protect Vingegaard, and to commit fully to the team plan. He loved it. “There’s an incredible feeling in riding as a unit and knowing you have the race under control,” he said. “It’s simply amazing to be able to support someone like Jonas Vingegaard in the biggest races in the world.”
That is why his 2026 programme matters.
Two Grand Tours, one job
Campenaerts will ride both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in support of Vingegaard. “I’ve never completed this combination before,” he said. “It will be an exciting challenge, but with the right preparation, I can show my best in both Grand Tours.”
The Giro will test his ability to back up effort after effort in a long race. The Tour will test whether he can repeat what he did in 2025, not as a surprise, but as an expectation.
After a season where he redefined what kind of rider he could be, Campenaerts is no longer just an engine. He is a reference point inside the team.
In 2026, Victor Campenaerts will not be riding for headlines. He will be riding for control, for structure, and for a leader who knows exactly how much that matters.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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