Visma | Lease a Bike reinforces its mountain core with a crucial domestique contract extension
Cycling
Visma | Lease a Bike continues to lock in the future of its Grand Tour core. According to WielerFlits, the Dutch squad has extended Bart Lemmen’s contract through the end of 2029.
The 30-year-old Dutch rider was already signed through 2027, but the team led by Richard Plugge has chosen to reward his progress with a two-year extension. Lemmen thus becomes the seventh rider on the team contracted until 2029, underlining the trust Visma places in one of its most valuable domestiques.
The renewal comes after an especially intense spell for the former professional soldier. Lemmen delivered a notable Giro d’Italia, again playing a key role in support of Jonas Vingegaard, before rounding it off with an excellent Tour de Suisse.
In the Swiss race he even came close to a stage win twice, finishing third on both days and closing the event with a creditable tenth place overall, confirming his superb form.
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That level made him one of the favourites for the Dutch National Championships, although he ultimately couldn’t even take the start.
Visma | Lease a Bike withdrew Lemmen from the Nationals for strategic reasons. After Edoardo Affini’s heavy crash at the Italian time trial championships, the team preferred to keep the Dutchman available as a potential Tour de France replacement.
In the end, Affini was cleared to race and started the Grande Boucle, leaving Lemmen out of both the national championships and the Tour.
Bart Lemmen, Visma rider
A reliable domestique for the Grand Tours
Inside the Dutch team, there is a strong sense that Lemmen has become a crucial piece for three-week races.
After riding the 2024 Tour de France and starting two consecutive editions of the Giro d’Italia, he has shown he performs at his best in the third week, when accumulated fatigue starts to bite.
One of his standout moments came at this year’s Giro, on the demanding Passo Giau stage, where he set the pace for the favourites’ group from the foot to the summit, leaving a great impression as a deluxe helper for Vingegaard.
Lemmen’s story is unusual in professional cycling. The Dutchman turned pro after spells with the West-Frisia club, the Continental team VolkerWessels and later Human Powered Health, where he caught Visma’s eye.
He joined the Dutch structure in 2024 and, barely six months later, was already riding the Tour de France as a late replacement for Sepp Kuss. Since then, he has established himself as one of the team’s most dependable riders.
Although his main role will remain to work for the team’s leaders, Lemmen makes no secret of his desire to take a professional win.
"I’m very happy to race in support and I really enjoy having two or three chances a year to ride for myself. I keep showing I’m very close to winning, but it would be fantastic to finally raise my arms."
With this deal through 2029, Visma | Lease a Bike secures the continuity of one of its most solid domestiques, a rider who has earned the team’s trust thanks to his climbing, versatility, and ability to deliver at the highest level when his leaders need him most.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- I hope 2027 is his year.mij03-11-2026
- why does he have to? many GT riders from Froome to Contador to Indurain didn't do them.mij03-11-2026
- I think Jonas would have lost the TDF by 4+ minutes (at the least) and might not have even been in the top 3. Too much talent in the younger riders to say anyone not named Pogačar would have been top 3md197503-11-2026
- this is just stupid. you already have 23%, gravel is over the topabstractengineer03-11-2026
- There was once a time when Lance was supremely popular and he used his artificial "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life" persona to lead his mob in going after Greg. There was no one Lance did not abuse in protecting his phony hero image. Lance promoted himself as a divine megastar and he let down millions of cancer victims and gullible devotees who clung far too long to the charade. Lance is the epitome of a corrupt person and because of his power, many around him, including business enterprises, succumbed to the evil. All who got in Armstrong's way were mercilessly attacked by him and his minions. This remarkably continues today with a new generation. LeMond was a number one enemy and paid a huge price. Who do you think slandered who?Yepperoni03-11-2026
- You despise him because he calls out the truth....OK clown !frieders303-11-2026
- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026
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