Visma locks in its 2026 lineup centered around Jonas Vingegaard and Wout Van Aert

Visma | Lease a Bike's planning for 2026 draws a scenario of controlled transition: the block has been significantly renewed, but without giving up its two big flagships, Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert.

The new arrivals and departures in the cycling market make the sporting message clear: the team assumes the loss of important figures, but strengthens the collective structure to continue to aspire to everything in the grand tours and one-day classics. The challenge will be to integrate the newcomers without losing the winning identity that has defined the project in recent years.

In terms of additions, the average profile of the Visma market for 2026 speaks of depth and versatility rather than big media names. The arrival of Bruno Armirail is a luxury reinforcement for all terrains and, above all, for long-distance work in grand tours, a rider capable of setting the pace for kilometers in long passes and of taking responsibility in the chase when the race breaks down.

Davide Piganzoli fits into the same logic of betting on climbers of the future, a rider who can grow in the shadow of Vingegaard and at the same time offer solutions in one-week tours. Around him there are very useful pieces: Owain Doull and Filippo Fiorelli bring experience and reliability in medium-difficulty terrains and classics, while Timo Kielich offers speed and top-end speed in selective finishes.

Completing the block are youngsters promoted from the development team, such as Pietro Mattio and Tim Rex, as well as an interesting project of former traithelete Anton Schiffer. All of them reinforce the team's base and guarantee quality reserves for an increasingly saturated calendar.

The casualties, however, are not minor and explain why the 2026 story cannot be limited to a simple "continuity". The departure of Olav Kooij deprives the team of one of the most promising sprinters in the peloton, while the departures of Tiesj Benoot and Dylan van Baarle takes away specific weight in the classics block, both in terms of experience and tactical ability. Obviously with respect to the former there is total confidence in Matthew Brennan after his beastly 2025.

The departure of Cian Uijtdebroeks to Movistar Team, meanwhile, means giving up a medium-term GC leader project in which they obviously did not believe (they told him they were not going to take him to any grand tour in 2026 and that is why he decided to force his departure), something that the team will try to compensate with the progression of internal talents and with the consolidation of Piganzoli.

In this context, the team's objectives for 2026 are very clear. In the grand tours, the focus will continue to be on Jonas Vingegaard, who will continue to be the backbone of the project in the Tour de France, and all indications are that this year he will try to win the Giro d'Italia, which they already achieved last season with Simon Yates.

The construction of the team around him aims to ensure a solid mountain train, with all-terrain riders capable of hardening the race from afar and controlling rival attacks. Kuss, Armirail, Piganzoli and other climbers in the squad will have as their first mission to protect and position him at key moments. The goal will not only be to fight for the overall, but also to regain the collective dominance in the high mountains that made Visma so recognizable in previous years. Obviously, both Yates and Matteo Jorgenson could have options in grand tours and small stage races where the Dane is not racing.

In parallel, Wout van Aert will remain the unequivocal reference in the classics block. Without Benoot and van Baarle, the Belgian will have even more sporting and tactical weight: the team will have to build around him a praetorian guard capable of accompanying him in Flanders, Roubaix and other monuments, and at the same time to open up a range of options so as not to be predictable. Riders like Laporte, Kielich, Doull or Fiorelli will be essential to offer variants: long-range attacks, presence in breakaways, support on the pavé sections or in demanding finishes.

The team's objective will be twofold: to aspire to win at least one of the major spring monuments and to maintain a constant presence on the podium or in the top 5 of the major events.

In short, 2026 is presented as a season in which Visma will try to demonstrate that, despite the important departures, the project continues to revolve strongly around two own names - Vingegaard and Van Aert - and a collective structure deep enough to continue fighting for everything. They are coming off a campaign in which they won two grand tours thanks to Vingo and Yates and in which they also took second place in the Tour with the Dane. It's not going to be easy to match that. We imagine that where they do want to improve is in the monuments, where we will see if this time Van Aert manages to scratch something against Pogacar and Van der Poel, something he has failed to do in recent years.