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Bad news for Visma | Lease a Bike in Sunday’s final stage of the Ruta del Sol. The Dutch squad saw Christophe Laporte — winner of stage 1 — forced to abandon after a crash. The Frenchman hit the deck with 25 kilometres to go and was unable to continue.
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The points leader was left on the Spanish tarmac, clearly in discomfort, and did not remount. “He seems to have got away with it relatively well,” said sports director Marc Reef.
“Someone in front of him slipped and took Christophe’s front wheel with them. He had nowhere to go and went down. He immediately said he couldn’t continue, but now at the finish it looks like it might not be too bad.”
Laporte was fourth on GC and also led the points classification, but could not defend either position. The final stage was won by Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), while Iván Romeo (Movistar) secured the overall victory.
“Christophe was well placed, both in the general classification and in the points classification. Unfortunately that’s all gone in one go. It’s a shame we couldn’t defend our chances,” Reef added.
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Visma | Lease a Bike switched focus to Zingle
“After Christophe dropped out, we immediately switched to Axel. He wasn’t well positioned at the foot of the climb, so he had to move up a lot of places. He fought for everything he had and still finished tenth. He did that well.”
All things considered, Visma | Lease a Bike’s overall takeaway remained relatively positive — especially with the Classics on the horizon and early indications that Laporte may not be too badly hurt. “We raced every day to win and we came close a number of times. We won the first stage and we can be happy with that. For most of the guys it was their first race of the season, and I think everyone took a step forward here. I’ve seen a lot of good things,” Reef concluded.
Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- I’m a bit confused by the photo finish explanation—if the image shows time rather than distance, how can it prove who crossed first? And why was the result not explained immediately after the race?velodromevirtuoso109-10-2026
- 13,000 captures per second is some serious technology! Still, I can understand why Ciccone felt frustrated when the margin was so tiny. Hopefully the organisers publish the full image so fans can see exactly what happened.patriciaw09-10-2026
- Evenepoel handled this well. No need to turn a razor-thin result into a bigger argument, especially with the governing body confirming the procedure. That jersey and Specialized bike combination should look absolutely brilliant in Lombardy.cadencekingm09-10-2026
- A finish decided by fractions of a second will always create debate, but the UEC’s explanation of the EtherLynx system sounds pretty conclusive. Photo finishes are often misunderstood—the image represents time, not a normal view of the riders’ position. Fair play to Ciccone for accepting it graciously.pedalpowe2909-10-2026
- This feels a bit overdramatic from the media. Until Roglic or his agent confirms it, all these “insiders” are just guessing. Still, seeing him line up with Pidcock would be pretty cool.breakawaybikerd09-10-2026
- I’m still learning the team side of cycling: if a team has 29 contracts already signed, how can it still add Roglič? Do riders leave, or are there limits on how many can be registered?samanthak09-10-2026
- So many conflicting reports — Tudor favourite one week, completely out the next. Surely someone in the camps knows what’s happening? Either way, Roglic deserves a team built around him rather than another uncertain setup.jeremya09-10-2026
- Pinarello-Q5 with Roglič, Pidcock and Ciccone would be a seriously interesting project. Plenty of firepower, although three big personalities sharing one team could get complicated during the Grand Tours.sprocketspiny09-10-2026
- The transfer rumours are becoming a race of their own! Tudor still makes sense, but a clear leader role at Lotto-Intermarché could be exactly what Roglič wants at this stage of his career. Let’s see what comes out after Lombardia.gearguru3309-10-2026
- Big challenge ahead—bonne chance, Grischa!lindae09-10-2026
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