Visma | Lease a Bike Tour de France team CONFIRMED - Van Aert and Laporte replacements made official as climber and classics specialist step in
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike have confirmed their team for the 2026 Tour de France as Jonas Vingegaard's support has been locked in. After injury and fitness concerns took Wout van Aert out of the running, and Christophe Laporte also unavailable, their two replacements have got the official nod.
Reports recently emerged that Davide Piganzoli and Per Strand Hagenes had got the nod for the Tour, and it's now been rubber-stamped that the duo will step up to support Vingegaard in his pursuit of a third yellow jersey triumph.
Piganzoli will be joined by Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson as the Dane's primary mountain support. Meanwhile, rouleurs Edoardo Affini and Bruno Armirail are set to marshall him through flat terrain. Victor Campenaerts and Strand Hagenes also can give versatile support across an array of parcours.
The line-up sees four members of the Giro d'Italia team take to the Grand Boucle start on July 4th. Champion Vingegaard knows he has the backing of Piganzoli, Campenaerts and Kuss after their dominant Corsa Rosa performance.
Piganzoli emerges as replacement
Visma last week confirmed Van Aert would be in no shape to approach the Tour at the necessary level. This led to speculation that Ben Tulett and Jorgen Nordhagen could step in, but a new rider stepped in.
Reports emerged that Italian rider Piganzoli - who impressed at the Giro d'Italia - would take the spot in his maiden year with Visma.
Piganzoli finished high in the overall classification whilst on a full domestique role for the Dane, and had very strong results himself. Logic would have it that fatigue would get the best of him, but he showed tremendous form this weekend by winning the queen stage of La Route d'Occitanie by a long margin.
After having taken a period of rest, the Italian's form is still present, and the team is considering him for a support role at the Grand Boucle - after his and Vingegaard's proximity were more than confirmed throughout the three weeks in Italy.
Read also
Visma | Lease a Bike Tour de France team
| Jonas Vingegaard |
| Sepp Kuss |
| Matteo Jorgenson |
| Davide Piganzoli |
| Victor Campenaerts |
| Per Strand Hagenes |
| Bruno Armirail |
| Edoardo Affini |
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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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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