The Visma | Lease a Bike team has been plagued by a string of injuries over the past few weeks. After Jonas Vingegaard’s team had to announce in mid-May that Christophe Laporte was out of action following a quadriceps tear sustained in a crash during a training session, more bad news followed a month later: Wout van Aert will miss the 2026 Tour de France due to an injury. At the time trial championships in Italy last week, another Visma rider crashed: Edoardo Affini was forced to withdraw from the race after just a few kilometres and was taken to hospital. This meant that the participation of another key support rider for Jonas Vingegaard and his ambitions in the Tour de France was hanging in the balance. Now the Dutch team has announced that the 30-year-old time trial specialist will travel to Barcelona and be part of the eight-man squad.
Affini as a key pillar for the team time trial in Barcelona
The 2026 Tour de France gets underway this year in Barcelona with a team time trial. For Team Visma | Lease a Bike, a fit Edoardo Affini will therefore be a key factor right from day one. He recently demonstrated his qualities in the team time trial at the Tour Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes, playing a vital role in the Visma team’s stage victory.
Lukas Niebuhr
Working student
