Team Visma | Lease a Bike looking to reinforce itself with an experienced British classics specialist
CyclingTuesday, 01 September 2026 at 12:26
Team Visma | Lease a Bike are looking for reinforcements into the 2027 season and one seems to be agreed on. Mark Donovan of Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team is reported to be a high-priority target for the Dutch team.
The move may come as a surprise, but following a trend of Visma's signings over the past few years. Failing to match the financial means of teams such as UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe or Lidl-Trek, the Dutch team has placed bets on riders coming from second division teams, whose potential they feel hadn't been reached to its fullest.
Last winter the team signed riders such as Davide Piganzoli and Louis Barré who have been performing at an incredibly high level, and recently the team also placed a bet on Fabio Jakobsen with a contract until the end of 2027. By doing this, the team aims to acquire quality riders at a lower cost, whilst having to choose not hiring massive under-23 promises.
Mark Donovan a fit in Visma's trend
It could be that Mark Donovan is another rider whom the team has the same purpose for. According to Wielerflits, an agreement has been reached already and the 27-year old will be joining the team from next season onwards.
Donovan turned pro in 2018 with the late Team Wiggins Le Col and moved on to the currently named Team Picnic PostNL in its prime years, starting in 2020. However the Briton wasn't one of the riders who reached an incredibly high level, and has settled for a more modest role within Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team - where he continued to have some leadership opportunities nevertheless.
Donovan's sole win took place at the 2023 Sibiu Cycling Tour, where he won the overall classification. In 2025, he was second at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali and also the Muur Classic Geraardsbergen.
The Briton is a puncheur, a well suited rider for the hilly classics. He was 17th at Tirreno-Adriatico this year, and recently has finished third at the Sibiu Cycling Tour, 14th at the Tour de Pologne and 12th at the Arctic Race of Norway.
Mark Donovan is set to join Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Who else might join Donovan?
Visma have been putting a lot of emphasis on classics specialists, and that does not come as a coincidence. In 2026, the Dutch team set themselves the goal of winning a monument - which they have, with Wout Van Aert at Paris-Roubaix.
One of their rumoured signings is Davide Ballerini, who would come to reinforce the team's classics block as well as the leadout crew for a growing Matthew Brennan.
Simultaneously, the successful signing of Louis Barré is just one indicator that the team's work and transfer strategy has been working successfully. There have been rumours during the month of July that the team is also working on bringing Natnael Tesfatsion into the team.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Pidcock is so automatic on the mountain bike. His schedule makes sense too - get skills and comfort in earlier in the year. The summer road season is great for fitness, and he goes for wins. and then back on the MTB for a final tune up for the WC. Unless Mathieu wants to forego some of his spring goals, it will have hard to win a WC on the MTB.mij01-09-2026
- Not a big name signing, but they show the ability to find needed riders and their solid structure improves them immensely. Again not seeing the alleged signs of Visma’s collapse.mij01-09-2026
- There was on race in which they were close, I remember another that MVDP was off the back quite a bit. It seems Pidcock puts everyone out the back when he is on his MTB. he is amazing.mij01-09-2026
- The stone was not the only problem, he was one handed (eating or drinking) he veered into a Visma rider and then braked voluntarily or involuntarily and went over the bike , that caused the issue, otherwise he should have been ok. Similar to Contador in 2014. Just a series of unfortunate chain of eventsabstractengineer01-09-2026
- He should not, take the year and do his normal off time thing with his girl and then ease back into training. Next year will here soon enough.awp01-09-2026
- Amateur opinion by this guy Clement. Never heard of him and it's clear he doesn't know what he's talking about. "oh the others avoided the stone." Come on. It was on the far left of the course. Pogacar was only a few rows back. In the video from in front of the peloton it was clear that only one rider had to actually avoid it and Pogacar was right behind that rider who had to swerve slightly to his right. I think Clement was trying to find a novel way to report on Pogacar's crash and it is very weak. There is no real support for his claim that Pogacar was overconfident. It was just bad luck. And CyclingUpToDate should be more careful about posting such drivel.PeteSharp01-09-2026
- well then thanks for clearing that upwhkman01-09-2026
- Those without talent need attention to survive, just like that influencer a few days ago. Ignore these nobodies and keep enjoying the sport.Renz01-09-2026
- Agreed, it is amazing what science and medical technology can do these days.
Andrew01-09-2026 - Lantern Rouge spoke about one of the riders trying to signal but they were right against the edge and going too fast.Andrew01-09-2026
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