VIDEO | Team Visma | Lease a Bike's next signing is already in Spain - And training with Jonas Vingegaard

Team Visma | Lease a Bike have arrived to Spain for their first training camp of the winter. Whilst they won't talk to the media in until about a month, their schedule preferences should already be quite clear by then. At the moment there are only 28 riders publicly confirmed to ride for the team in 2026, but rider number 29 Louis Barré is currently training with the Dutch team already.

This is something that does not come as a surprise, in fact Barré has been rumoured to join the Dutch team as far back as late October. A transfer could've been given as a certain already at the time, but the delay has with certainty been related to the demise of Intermarché - Wanty. The Belgian team is merging with Lotto into the next season, but most of the riders from the Intermarché team are signing with new teams, and Barré is certainly no exception.

Whilst a few of the riders are joining the Intermarché-Lotto merger, around half of the 15 riders that still don't have a public contract for next season are still looking for a new outfit - a few are unlikely to have that luck. But in the meantime Biniam Girmay has signed with NSN Cycling Team; Gerben Thijssen and Francesco Busatto have joined Alpecin - Premier Tech; Alexander Kamp will join Uno-X Mobility; Arne Marit will join Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe; Hugo Page will join Cofidis; Laurenz Rex has signed with Soudal - Quick-Step; Dries de Pooter is moving to Team Jayco AlUla and Alexy Faure Prost was the latest announcement for Team Picnic PostNL.

Barring Kamp and Page, every single one of these transfers was announced within the last couple weeks, heavily hinting that the contractual situation with the Belgian team was undetermined, and it wasn't possible for them to move away until that period. That is likely why Barré's signing with Visma hasn't been officialized yet, but in a training clip making the rounds on social media this Tuesday, Barré was seen training with a few of the Dutch team's riders including Jonas Vingegaard himself, leaving no room for doubt.

Barré is a puncheur and classics specialists, having finished sixth at both Amstel Gold Race and GP de Montréal this year; alongside strong performances in the non-World Tour calendar where he performed in several one-day and stage-races.