Of the forty wins recorded by Team Visma | Lease a Bike over the past calendar year, ten came in the three Grand Tours. Simon Yates claimed overall victory in the Giro d’Italia after a thrilling finale, while Jonas Vingegaard proved to be in a class of his own at the Vuelta a España. In addition, the Dane finished second overall in the Tour de France.

The monuments
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, the team is once again nurturing high ambitions. "Our biggest goal every year is to win the Tour de France", says Head of Racing Grischa Niermann. ""In addition, we want to win the Giro, win a cycling monument and aim for the highest possible in the Vuelta."

In recent years, Team Visma | Lease a Bike has focused mainly on the cobbled monuments. That focus is now widened. "Since there are only five monuments each year, we need to seize every opportunity to win one. Matteo Jorgenson, Ben Tulett and Louis Barré will prepare specifically for these more hilly monuments. We may not be the outright favourites, but we are convinced we can excel there."

In the cobbled classics, all eyes will once again be on Wout van Aert. The 31-year-old Belgian has been among the world’s best classics riders for many years and is eager to make this spring a successful one. "Wout has never hidden the fact that he dreams of winning Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders. It would be wonderful for him, and for us, if he can fulfil that dream.With our goal of winning a cycling monument in mind, it makes sense to have him at the start of Milan-Sanremo. With him, a former winner, there, we have an extra card to play for victory there."

Grand Tours
The team’s other leader, Vingegaard, will once again focus on the Grand Tours. In addition to the Tour de France, he will make his debut in the Giro d’Italia next season. "Apart from the fact that he has always wanted to do the Giro, we are convinced that racing the Giro will benefit his level in the Tour. Of course, we are aiming to win the Giro, but the Tour remains our main objective."

If everything goes according to plan, Van Aert and Matthew Brennan will be the team’s spearheads in the final Grand Tour of the season, the Vuelta a España. For Brennan, it would be his first participation in a Grand Tour. As a result, the focus will naturally be more on stage wins than on the general classification. "The Vuelta allows us to give our youngsters the chance to pursue a strong result in the GC, without expecting too much from them straight away."

White Jersey Group
This approach fits another key objective of the team: developing and nurturing its own talent. According to Niermann, the so-called white jersey group, consisting of young talented riders, will be given ample opportunities to prove themselves in a variety of races. "For young riders, it is important that they are given a race programme that suits them. They get the chance to improve their skills and race intelligence at the very highest level, surrounded by experienced leaders such as Jonas and Wout."

One of those talents is Brennan, who enjoyed a meteoric rise last season. The 20-year-old Brit recorded fourteen victories and emerged as one of the revelations of the year. "Matthew is a very important rider for the future", Niermann states. "He's still young, so we have to be patient with him. If everything goes according to plan, he will ride major races this year such as Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and the Vuelta a España. He will mainly go there to learn, we do not expect him to immediately race for results."

Niermann is confident that the team can be competitive throughout the entire season. According to the German, the nine new signings (Anton Schiffer, Bruno Armirail, Davide Piganzoli, Filippo Fiorelli, Owain Doull, Timo Kielich, Louis Barré, Tim Rex and Pietro Mattio) will play an important role in that ambition. "When will 2026 be a success for us? If we have done everything possible to race for victory in the biggest events. And on top of that, I hope we will win even more than we did in 2025."