Visma reveal their Tour de France squad live today — who fills the Van Aert void?

Visma | Lease a Bike announces their eight-man Tour de France roster via a live YouTube show on Tuesday, 23 June at 16:00 CEST. The final seat is still open and it belongs to whoever steps up to cover the gap left by Wout van Aert’s elbow infection.

Watch the squad announcement live

The show airs from Visma’s High Performance Centre in Den Bosch, Netherlands. Team Chief Business Officer Jasper Saeijs described the format as going “beyond a traditional line-up announcement,” promising rider interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and interactive elements. Head of Racing Marc Reef will also outline the team’s ambitions for the three weeks in France.

Tune in here: youtube.com/@TeamVismaLeaseaBike — go live at 16:00 CEST (14:00 UTC / 15:00 BST / 10:00 EDT).

Why Van Aert’s absence matters more than it looks

Van Aert crashed during training before the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, started the race with a wound to his elbow, won stage five from a sprint, then abandoned the following day after an infection developed. He and the team concluded he could not reach the Tour in the condition needed to perform at his best.

That is not just one name off a list. Across seven Tour participations, Van Aert collected ten stage wins, wore both the yellow and green jerseys, and played a decisive supporting role in Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour campaigns. No rider in the current Visma roster can sprint for a stage win, pace a TTT, cover a breakaway, and escort Vingegaard up a mountain in the same week. Van Aert was the only one.

The bad news stacked up before he even went down. Simon Yates terminated his contract over the winter due to motivation problems, removing the team’s key climbing domestique. Christophe Laporte then tore his quadriceps in a training crash in May, requiring a second replacement. Per Strand Hagenes was reported by HLN as Laporte’s slot-in. Van Aert’s infection made it three disruptions in six months.

Axel Zingle, briefly floated as a candidate, confirmed to DirectVelo he would be ending his season entirely to undergo iliac artery surgery with no planned return until 2027.

The seven names who appear nailed on heading into today’s announcement:

• Jonas Vingegaard — GC leader
• Matteo Jorgenson — high mountain support, backup GC
• Sepp Kuss — high mountain, yellow jersey protection
• Victor Campenaerts — rouleur, TTT engine, breakaway controller
• Bruno Armirail — mid-mountain domestique, all-terrain
• Edoardo Affini — rouleur, flat/medium stage controller
• Per Strand Hagenes — classics specialist, Laporte’s replacement

Seat eight is the question. See the full 2026 startlist before the Barcelona stage 1.

The candidates for the final spot

Jørgen Nordhagen is the name with the most momentum going in. The 21-year-old Norwegian finished eighth overall at the UAE Tour, second at O Gran Camiño, and fourth at the Tour de Romandie in 2026. He is light, explosive, and capable of staying with elite climbers. The problem: he abandoned the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes due to illness, and a Tour debut would represent an enormous step, particularly in a team carrying overall victory ambitions.

Wilco Kelderman is the experienced pick. The 35-year-old told IDL Pro Cycling directly that he is the team’s reserve: “If someone drops out, I might have to go there.” He has not raced since the Tour de Romandie in May, which works in his favour — unlike the Giro riders whose legs may still carry three weeks of fatigue from Italy. His climbing ceiling is lower than Nordhagen’s, but he knows how to survive three weeks without cracking.

Ben Tulett is the dark horse. The 24-year-old Briton showed strong form in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and gives Visma another young climber who has not spent himself at the Giro. Bart Lemmen also carries Tour experience, he was a late call-up to the 2024 race, but showed signs of fatigue by the time the Giro reached Rome.

Davide Piganzoli was the surprise name that surfaced on Monday. Gazzetta dello Sport’s Ciro Scognamiglio reported that “there could be a spot” for the 23-year-old Italian, who acted as Vingegaard’s number one domestique in the opening two weeks of the Giro. However, Piganzoli started to slow in the Giro’s final two weeks after giving everything for the team, and Visma tend not to rush the development of young riders who are already on track.

What Visma actually need

The team already has considerable strength on flat and rolling terrain through Campenaerts, Affini, Armirail, and Strand Hagenes — so a climber makes more sense than another rouleur. The 2026 route backs that up: 54,450 metres of total elevation, five summit finishes, two Alpe d’Huez ascents in the final weekend. Vingegaard needs bodies on the mountain, not another wheel-holder on the flat.

On paper, Nordhagen gives Visma the most upside in the mountains. Kelderman gives them the most certainty over three weeks. Today’s live show settles it.

What’s next

The Tour de France starts in Barcelona on 4 July with a 19.7km team time trial. Visma have won the opening TTT in each of the last two editions they entered one. With Campenaerts and Affini still in the squad, that record is safe regardless of who fills seat eight.

Vingegaard won the 2026 Giro d’Italia in May, his first Grand Tour victory since fracturing his collarbone in a crash at the 2024 Basque Country. He arrives in Barcelona carrying the form of a rider who has just dominated a three-week race. The question is whether he can do it again eleven days later — and whether whoever Visma name today can help him hold off Pogačar long enough to find out.