Christophe Laporte will miss the Tour de France in major blow for Visma and Vingegaard

Christophe Laporte will not be racing at this year's Tour de France. The French Visma | Lease a Bike rider has sustained a quadriceps tear in a training crash and will be unable to ride for several weeks, the team announced on Thursday afternoon.

"This is obviously an enormous disappointment. I had ridden a strong spring and was ready to begin my Tour de France preparation," Laporte said in the team press release. "I was really looking forward to the upcoming races, and above all the Tour. For now, my focus is entirely on my recovery so I can come back as soon as possible."

Medical examinations have confirmed that Laporte must not train for several weeks in order to make a full recovery. As a result, he will miss not only the Tour de France but also the Tour de l'Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes — the most important preparation race for the Tour.

It is yet another major setback for the 33-year-old, who already missed a long stretch of last year due to a persistent viral infection. This spring had seen him return to his best form after missing the classics for two consecutive years — he had ridden himself back into shape and won the opening stage of the Ruta del Sol in February. But after ten consecutive starts at the Tour de France, there will be no eleventh in a row.

It had already become clear in recent weeks that Edoardo Affini — also a specialist for the flat — would be part of the Tour squad regardless. The Italian is currently at the team's altitude training camp along with Wout van Aert and others. Team leader Jonas Vingegaard is not there, for obvious reasons: he is currently competing at the Giro d'Italia.

Laporte won one stage at the Tour de France in 2022. His focus for the coming weeks will be entirely on recovery and a careful rehabilitation process.