Visma | Lease a Bike drops two Flemish Classics from 2026 calendar

On Tuesday, the team already announced its selections for the first spring races of 2026. At Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Visma | Lease a Bike will start with Wout van Aert, Matthew Brennan and Christophe Laporte, with the latter two also set to race Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne.

Straight after Opening Weekend, the team will race Le Samyn (Ename Samyn Classic), with Van Aert and Laporte among the names on the list. Visma last rode that race in 2022, so it is an addition to the calendar compared to 2025.

Later, in mid-March, Visma | Lease a Bike will once again race GP Denain, an important test for the equipment the team aims to use at Paris–Roubaix. For that reason, the squad also started Denain in 2022 — due to a cobbled stage in the Tour de France — with Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard on the start list.

So the changes are in Bruges and Overijse, where Visma | Lease a Bike will not be seen this year. The Ronde van Brugge announced its participating teams on Tuesday, and Visma | Lease a Bike was missing from the list of sixteen WorldTour squads. INEOS Grenadiers will also not ride.

De Brabantse Pijl is also a race the team rides one year and skips the next. Last year, Wout van Aert was beaten there by Remco Evenepoel, but in 2026 the Belgian — like the rest of his team — is normally not expected to be there. Ten teams will take part in total.

Former winners Tim Wellens and Benoît Cosnefroy (UAE Team Emirates XRG) and Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) have confirmed their participation in De Brabantse Pijl, as has two-time runner-up Michael Matthews of Jayco AlUla. EF Education–EasyPost, Soudal Quick-Step, Groupama-FDJ, Lotto-Intermarché, NSN, Bahrain Victorious and Alpecin-Premier Tech will also start.