Visma set to renew with the rider who will protect Jonas Vingegaard on the 2026 Tour de France's flat stages

Team Visma | Lease a Bike is going into the Tour de France with an incredibly strong and motivated lineup. All the pieces seem to be falling together for Jonas Vingegaard to battle Tadej Pogacar; and the team is boosting the motivation of one more of its riders as Edoardo Affini is set to renew with the team.

According to Wielerflits, multiple sources have confirmed that the Italian will sign a new contract with the team. This does not come as a surprise taking into consideration his role and the efficacy in which he has executed it since joining the Dutch team.

Affini joined Visma in 2022, coming from Team Jayco AlUla. He is a top time trialist and has conquered the European title back in 2024. Despite this, his tally as a professional rider is limited to only three victories, none of them at World Tour level. However that does not diminish his importance in the team when it comes to the discipline, as he's helped it to several TTT victories. In 2024, he was also third at the time trial World Championships in Zurich.

But Affini's most important asset is not his time trialing ability now, it is his role as a road captain for Visma. The Italian is a heavyweight rider who thrives on the flat terrain, and so he has become a very important part of the team's Grand Tour blocks.

In 2025 he took a significant step, as he became part of the team's first line of defense for Jonas Vingegaard. Affini raced the Giro d'Italia but despite this, he was hand-picked to race the Tour de France alongside the Dane, and has executed his job to perfection. As Victor Campenaerts takes up a more important role in the hilly and mountainous terrain, Affini was the team's single biggest figure to position Vingegaard on the flat stages and protect (and attack) the stages in which the wind was present - aside from aiding Wout Van Aert's sprinting ambitions as well.

With Visma heading to the Tour once again headlined by Vingegaard and Van Aert, Affini's importance has remained, if not grown. He was not selected to the Giro d'Italia and has been specifically preparing for the Grand Boucle.

This year he already raced Paris-Nice with the Dane, whilst he was present at the cobbled classics where for Wout Van Aert, he was also an important support rider. The 29-year old is expected to sign a multi-year deal.