Visma | Lease a Bike transfer bombshell - Fabio Jakobsen to sign for Dutch team as he ends Picnic PostNL contract in surprise move
CyclingMonday, 03 August 2026 at 11:01
The transfer market is stirring again with an unexpected move. Fabio Jakobsen is very close to becoming a new rider for Visma | Lease a Bike, after mutually agreeing to end his contract with Picnic PostNL, as reported by Dutch journalist Raymond Kerckhoffs on WielerFlits.
The deal is not fully finalized for the remainder of the 2026 season, but all parties are understood to have reached an agreement for the Dutch sprinter to join the Visma structure in 2027 on a one-year contract. The big question now is whether Jakobsen will be able to wear the yellow-and-black colours before the end of this August.
Talks for an immediate move remain open and it has yet to be officially confirmed whether the switch can happen during the current season. However, the agreement for 2027 appears virtually sealed, after the rider decided to part ways with Picnic PostNL.
New chapter for Jakobsen
Jakobsen enters this new chapter after a difficult spell with his current team, ultimately ending with the mutual agreement to go their separate ways.
The Dutchman, one of the world’s top sprinters in recent years, has endured two and a half challenging seasons since joining Picnic PostNL, far from the level he showed previously with Quick Step, where he became one of the most feared finishers in the international peloton.
Visma | Lease a Bike had been searching for a mass-finish specialist for months. The Dutch squad wants to strengthen its sprint presence and identified Jakobsen as the ideal profile to partner the young Matthew Brennan, one of the team’s major prospects for the future.
Fabio Jakobsen to Visma Lease a Bike
Visma target sprint victories
The signing would offer Jakobsen a new opportunity as he seeks to rebuild confidence and return to winning ways at the biggest races on the calendar.
With a top-tier team behind him and a structure known for maximizing rider performance, Visma hopes to revive the best version of a cyclist who has won stages at the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, and the European Championships.
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For Visma | Lease a Bike, Jakobsen’s arrival is an important piece of their sporting plan going forward. After focusing much of their efforts on Grand Tours and the Classics, the Dutch team aims to re-establish a clear reference for bunch finishes.
The move could become one of the transfer market’s biggest bombshells, especially if Jakobsen manages to fast-track his arrival and debut with Visma during the second half of the 2026 season.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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leedorney03-08-2026 - From what Jonas has said recently as well, maybe in hindsight they think he should have resisted the pressure in 2024 to go for three Tour wins in a row, and instead taken all the time he needed to recover fully from his Itzulia crash before racing again. That effort may have set him further back in the long run. It was painful to watch him making such efforts with so little muscle mass, and almost fainting at the end of the Galibier downhill on Stage 4.Hills3303-08-2026
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