Visma loses crucial domestique Christophe Laporte at Vuelta a Espana: 'Riding into a whole new kind of sauna'

Visma | Lease a Bike will have to make do without Christophe Laporte for the remainder of the 2026 Vuelta a España. The Frenchman withdrew during Saturday’s 14th stage, the organisers reported. Laporte had already finished among the last riders on Friday in the 13th stage of the race, which was won by Wout van Aert.

Visma | Lease a Bike has not disclosed the reason for Laporte’s withdrawal; so far, he has primarily played a crucial role in the lead-outs for Matthew Brennan. There is talk that it was due to stomach problems, which may have been caused by the heat.

After Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon), Hugo Houle (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Oliver Peace (Picnic PostNL), and Moritz Kretschky (NSN), Laporte was already the fifth rider to abandon the race in Stage 14. Alpecin-Premier Tech now has only 3 riders left in the race, while NSN has 4.

Several riders complained about this before the start of Stage 14: it’s currently 40 degrees in southern Spain, and riders are dropping out by the dozen. “We’re battling the heat more than the competition or the course. It’s a shame it’s come to this,” Sander De Pestel told Sporza.

"At the start, it wasn't too bad. It was damp, but we're used to that. The last two hours, on the other hand... Every descent we took felt like we were riding into a whole new kind of sauna. It was really crazy."

"If the color is red or dark red, there are three options: either they change the start time, or they shorten the stage, or they cancel the stage. Right now, nothing is being done. And this despite the fact that yesterday, riders were once again taken to the hospital with heatstroke,” said the Belgian. Temperatures above 40 degrees are expected on Sunday.

For the Frenchman Laporte, the Vuelta was an addition to his annual schedule after he had to miss the Tour de France. Ben Tulett had already withdrawn earlier due to a crash.