Cyclist Wout van Aert of Team Visma-Lease a Bike has canceled his start at the 2026 Tour de France. The reason is an inflamed elbow injury he sustained in a training crash in early June. The Dutch team announced this two and a half weeks before the Tour start in Barcelona.
Van Aert had only won the classic Paris-Roubaix in April, beating Tour favorite Tadej Pogačar in the sprint finish. At the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes dress rehearsal, he still won the fifth stage despite the wound but then dropped out. “This is naturally a huge disappointment,” van Aert said. “The Tour de France is one of my main goals every year. Together with the team, we concluded that it is not possible to start the Tour in top form.”
For two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, the absence is a bitter loss. The Dane, who finished second behind Pogačar in 2025, loses his most important helper in the fight for the yellow jersey. Marc Reef, new Head of Racing at Visma-Lease a Bike, emphasized: “Wout is one of our most important riders. We would have liked to have him at the Tour, but health comes first.”
Who will replace van Aert in the lineup, the team will announce at the presentation on June 23. Van Aert himself is now focusing on recovery to return later in the season.
Source: www.spiegel.de
