No Grand Tours, but Visma's Zingle joins Wout van Aert and the cobbled classics block - "I haven't had the chance to race with them yet"

Axel Zingle was signed to Team Visma | Lease a Bike in 2025 but experienced an unlucky season marked by injury. The potential was there, but the Frenchman won't pursue the same plan, but instead focus on obtaining victories and also going for the cobbled classics in 2026.

"There probably won't be any Grand Tours. The main objective is to race a lot, to make up for the lack of race days from last year, and to get some good results. To have a full season," Zingle said in conversation with Cyclism'Actu. This season Zingle was a strong supported for Matteo Jorgenson and Jonas Vingegaard at Paris-Nice but then struggled to find his form.

He got it back at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, but crashed and got injured whilst leading the race, having to stop competition for three months. "I had a few injuries, including a fractured vertebra in May, although it wasn't extremely serious. But there's also the team's philosophy, which prioritizes recovery. In my old team, I probably would have pushed a bit harder and raced more. Here, the goal is really to make sure the body recovers properly each time".

However upon a successful return, where he was close to a win at the Tour of Denmark and then started the Vuelta a España to race in support of Jonas Vingegaard, but had to abandon the race after once again crashing on stage 2. His season ended there in August still. "I had very few race days in 2025. Only 28, which really isn't many. It's the first season where I've had a bit of an off day.

Hence this year, Grand Tours are not in his program, but instead he focuses more on the one-day races where he was already performing before joining Visma. "I don't necessarily need to do Grand Tours. I enjoy them, but they're not an absolute necessity for me. Since I didn't race much last year, the main goal is to get back into the swing of things and have a full season, without putting all my eggs in one basket with Grand Tour preparation".

"Anyway, in Grand Tours, the team often focuses on the general classification, and I'm not necessarily the most useful rider in that context," the classics specialist admits. "So the race calendar is organized naturally like this, and it suits me well".

He starts his season at the Tour of Oman, races the Opening Weekend and then Paris-Nice for a big block of racing; the cobbled classics will follow; he will also take part in Amstel Gold Race and the Tour de Romandie. The French classics will follow in May with the GP du Morbihan and Tro-Bro Léon at the very least in his schedule; followed by the Tour de Suisse in June.

"Yes, the team is counting on me in several races, sometimes considered secondary, to get results. It's up to me to take advantage of that and try to have a great season, with as many wins as possible".

Whilst they are not set in stone, a few of the cobbled classics will be in his schedule. Taking into consideration he is a lightweight punchy rider, the Flandrien suit him much better than a Paris-Roubaix.

"Last year, I was supposed to be preparing for the Ardennes Classics. I had prepared well for that block, but I got injured at the Tour of the Basque Country, which prevented me from participating. This year, it was also my request to join the classics group. There was room, especially since Matteo Jorgenson won't be there," he explains. "I was interested in racing with riders like Wout [van Aert] or Christophe [Laporte]. I haven't had the chance to race with them yet since joining the team. These are races that suit me and that I was really motivated for".

The Dutch team will require aggressive and proactive tactics to try and beat riders such as Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel who look unbeatable in such races, and he will be part of these plans. "Well, attacking from afar isn't necessarily what suits me best. The main goal will be to support Wout and Christophe, and to have a solid and cohesive team. Of course, this can also open up personal opportunities depending on how the race unfolds".

In his own personal list then lies Amstel Gold Race, where he hopes to be at his best. "The Amstel Gold Race is definitely a goal. I'll have a role the team expects me to play there. It's a race I really like, and my only previous participation went well. It's probably the classic that suits me best".

"There's also Paris-Nice, where I'll have opportunities in the sprints and on some punchy finishes. Overall, my schedule will be geared towards giving me a free hand as often as possible," he concluded. "The goal is to be consistent, in good form throughout the season, and to achieve as many attainable results as possible".