Barré is back — Visma end their Eschborn-Frankfurt absence with a point to prove

Visma | Lease a Bike have announced their line-up for Eschborn-Frankfurt via X. The last WorldTour one-day race before the Giro d'Italia sees the return of Louis Barré — their intended Ardennes leader, who was forced to skip the spring through illness and injury. Ben Tulett also lines up for the Dutch squad.

Friday's race is the final WorldTour one-day event before the Giro d'Italia gets under way. Visma | Lease a Bike had skipped Eschborn-Frankfurt in each of the past five years. Under the old UCI regulations, they had no obligation to start, as the German race only joined the WorldTour in 2017 — meaning the previous rules did not require their attendance.

That changes this year. New regulations now stipulate that every WorldTour team may skip only one race per season, and no race more than once in a three-year cycle. The rule change brings the Dutch team back to Germany for the first time in five years.

Barré is among those making the trip. The Frenchman joined Visma | Lease a Bike from Intermarché this winter, his move eased by the team's merger. Tipped as one of the Ardennes revelations of 2025, he was set to lead the team through the hilly Classics — but illness and a tendon injury ruled him out of almost the entire spring.

Tulett, meanwhile, was present at the Classics but not without his own difficulties. He was ill at Amstel Gold Race, yet bounced back just three days later with a fine third place at La Flèche Wallonne. He impressed again at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, finishing in the group contesting third place. Whether Eschborn-Frankfurt's profile suits him well enough to make a decisive impact remains to be seen.

Completing the Visma | Lease a Bike line-up are new signings Filippo Fiorelli and Owain Doull — the latter one of only two riders alongside Tadej Pogačar to have started all five Monuments this season. Loe van Belle is the only Dutchman in the squad, while Tim Rex and the in-form Per Strand Hagenes round out the seven.