Ben Tulett, luxury replacement at Visma | Lease a Bike, takes lessons from 2024 and 2025 into 2026

When one door closes, another can suddenly open. If there’s one team that knows how that works, it’s Visma | Lease a Bike. When Tom Dumoulin decided to put his career on hold in 2021, Jonas Vingegaard stepped in as his replacement for the Tour de France.

So there was no immediate panic inside the squad when Simon Yates — who had been earmarked as Vingegaard’s key domestique for this year’s Tour — announced his retirement in early January. Tulett still won’t (or can’t) confirm it, but all signs point to him filling that vacancy.

“With Simon stopping, there is indeed a place that has opened up. Would I like to ride the Tour? It’s a young boy’s dream, the biggest race there is in our sport,” he replies when asked, without actually admitting he will be on the start list. “But yes, it could be that there are changes to my programme.”

The first change has already been made: instead of the Ruta del Sol, Tulett will begin his season at the UAE Tour. He will do so without Vingegaard, who is skipping the race in the United Arab Emirates due to a crash and illness.

After that, Tulett heads to France for the Ardèche and Drôme Classic, followed by Strade Bianche. “That’s a special race, and one I always like to ride. Especially with Wout van Aert there — a former winner,” says Tulett, a two-time junior cyclo-cross world champion, speaking about the rider who was his idol when he was younger.

Following the Italian gravel classic, the 24-year-old will take a break, with a view to his bigger targets later in the spring. Tulett is eager to deliver in the Ardennes — having already finished 12th in La Flèche Wallonne at the age of 19. “I believe those are races where I should be able to perform, and that’s why we’re approaching it a bit differently. I’m racing less at the start of the year now, and I’m planning an altitude camp before the Tour of the Basque Country, so that I’m fresher for that period and for what comes after.”

“In 2024 I got sick just before the Ardennes and ended up only racing Liège–Bastogne–Liège, where I then had to abandon after a crash. Last year was okay, but I also wasn’t at my best. I actually started that period already a bit tired, because I’d raced quite a lot by then,” says the Brit, who did finish an impressive second in Milan–Turin last year.

Alongside Matteo Jorgenson and Louis Barré, Tulett will typically lead Visma | Lease a Bike — a team that is placing more focus on the hilly Classics — through the final weeks of April. “It’s not that I want to pick out one race,” he explains. “It’s more about getting the best out of myself in that period. Of course, we’re aiming for the highest possible, and that’s the mindset we’ll start with.”

Tulett has already experienced plenty in his first two seasons with the Dutch squad. In 2024, illness and a nasty crash limited him to just 25 race days, but the understated Brit carries a clear what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger attitude.

“It was my first year with the team, full of setbacks and injuries. Especially that crash in the Tour of Burgos — and the long recovery period that came with it — really hit me. But on the other hand, moments like that also make you grow as a cyclist, because you learn an incredible amount from them. Of course it’s difficult to go through something like that, but it builds character, and you still have to make the best of it.”

Where Tulett had to miss the 2024 Vuelta a España due to the complicated shoulder fracture he suffered in Burgos, he was able to be part of the team in Spain last season. “Every Grand Tour teaches you something as a rider, and that certainly applied to the Vuelta. I feel like I was able to take another step afterwards, but it was also very important for me to experience what it means to win a Grand Tour as a team. I learned a lot from that,” he says about winning the race with Vingegaard.

He also picked up plenty from riders like Vingegaard, Victor Campenaerts, Dylan van Baarle and Wilco Kelderman. “Being consistent day after day — and not only on the bike. How they focus, make a plan, adapt to what happens, recover after a stage, and all those other aspects… you’re always watching and learning. When you look at the team we had, there was so much experience at the very highest level.”

That experience could yet prove valuable in July, when his Tour de France debut may be on the horizon. “It brings extra focus when you ride with Jonas, but that’s a positive thing. Every time you pin on a number, you know it’s about winning. That naturally pushes you to a higher level — knowing you carry that responsibility with you.”