New Visma signing already shows Vingegaard he can be trusted: “Learning English was completely new to me”

On the team website, the Frenchman introduced himself. Armirail, who does not come from a cycling background, explained how he first got into the sport. “One of my friends took me down to the local club in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, where I really tried cycling for the first time. I fell in love with the sport and quickly stopped playing rugby to continue cycling.”

“Before that, I had no interest in cycling. I didn’t even watch the Tour de France,” said Armirail, who hails from the Pyrenees. It also took him some time to turn professional. The powerful rouleur was only picked up by Groupama-FDJ at the age of 24, and he remained there until last year.

“Seeing my friends among all the fans at the Tour de France is amazing, but the best moment of my career came at the Giro d’Italia in 2023, when I took the leader’s jersey and held it for a few days. That is a very fond memory,” he said.

The French time trial specialist is best known as a strong domestique, which is exactly the role he was brought in to fill. “I am not a top climber, but I can handle a lot of climbs well, and even though I do not win many time trials, I often finish near the front. I think I can be a very versatile teammate,” said Armirail, who has already shown as much at Paris–Nice.

“The team spirit of cycling is very important to me. I love helping my leaders perform at their best and achieve the highest possible result. But I also still have a passion for time trialing. The meticulous pursuit of performance in a discipline where every detail counts is very interesting.”

At Visma | Lease a Bike, Armirail is broadening his horizons in more ways than one. “Everyone is relaxed and very friendly. Despite my difficulties with English, everyone approaches me and helps me integrate, trying to support me as much as possible. Learning English is completely new to me, and it isn’t easy to learn from scratch, but it’s going well.”