"Laporte and I had a lot of vacation last year": Axel Zingle ready to step up after disaster 2025

Team Visma | Lease a Bike enters the 2026 spring classics campaign with a very different look. Following the departures of key pillars like Tiesj Benoot, Dylan van Baarle, and sprinter Olav Kooij, the Dutch squad is looking for new protagonists. One of the riders expected to fill that void is Axel Zingle, the 27-year-old Frenchman who joined the team last year from Cofidis but has yet to show his true colors.

Zingle was identified as a perfect fit for the team's classic ambitions. However, his debut season in 2025 was a nightmare full of bad luck. Zingle managed only 28 race days, missing the Ardennes classics and the Tour de France due to crashes, and eventually abandoning the Vuelta a España with injuries.

Speaking to WielerFlits, Zingle approached his difficult start with humor. "Let's say I came out of 2025 110% fresh," he laughed. "The other riders in the team already joked that Christophe [Laporte] and I mainly had a lot of vacation last year."

Despite the jokes, the reality was very frustrating for the Frenchman. Zingle underwent shoulder surgery after the Vuelta, leading to a very long off-season. While he won a stage at the Four Days of Dunkirk, where he likely would have won the overall if not for a crash, he admits that he has lost some momentum.

"I cannot say that I am a better rider now than when I came here a year ago," Zingle admitted. "But I still have the same motivation. Or well, actually I am even more motivated. But I don't dare to say now if I am stronger than a year ago."

With the roster changes, Zingle’s role has grown. He will take on a heavier schedule of spring classics alongside new signings Timo Kielich and Owain Doull. His primary job will be to support the team leader, Wout van Aert, but he also has personal ambitions.

"It is always my goal to win races, but in some races I also like to help other teammates to win," he explained. "In the Flemish classics where we start with Wout, we go collectively for victory."

Zingle confirmed a heavy schedule for the coming weeks, as he will tackle may Belgian classics. "I ride, among others, the E3 Saxo Classic, Dwars Door Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders and the Amstel Gold Race."

While he is ready to work on the cobbles, Zingle has circled one race in particular where he believes he can shine. "In that last race [Amstel Gold Race] I come into my own best, if I have to choose one," he said. "Many corners, narrow roads. I love that enormously. That comes from my background in mountain biking."

However, we will most likely not see him in July. Despite being chosen as a late replacement for Laporte last year before his own injuries struck, the plans for 2026 are different. "I normally won't do the Tour de France," he confirmed.