Become a Confident Cyclist in 7 Days →
News

Visma’s Injury Crisis Deepens as Christophe Laporte Crashes Out of Vuelta a Andalucia

May 19, 2026
0 Comments

Team Visma-Lease a Bike’s 2026 season keeps unraveling, with Christophe Laporte crashing out of the Vuelta a Andalucia while fighting for the overall lead, adding another setback to a campaign already hit by injuries, illness, and repeated misfortune.

​Team Visma-Lease a Bike’s turbulent start to the 2026 season took another blow on Monday, as Christophe Laporte crashed out of the Vuelta a Andalucia while in contention for overall victory.

Christophe Laporte (Credit: Cycling Up To Date)

​The Dutch squad has endured a difficult opening stretch, marked by retirements, illnesses, and repeated crashes affecting much of its leadership core.

​After ankle issues sidelined Wout van Aert earlier this year and illness disrupted Jonas Vingegaard’s preparations, Laporte’s withdrawal further compounds a campaign that has yet to find stability.

​The Frenchman had offered a rare bright spot. After two seasons disrupted by illness and injury that kept him out of the cobbled classics, Laporte returned to racing in strong form, winning the opening stage in Andalucia and positioning himself well in both the general and points classifications.

​His resurgence suggested momentum at precisely the moment the team needed it.

​That momentum ended abruptly.

​According to team sports director Marc Reef, a rider ahead of Laporte slipped and collided with his front wheel. With no room to avoid the incident, Laporte crashed and was forced to abandon the race. Initial assessments suggest he may have avoided serious injury, but his chances in the race disappeared instantly.

Join The Conversation

You Might Also Like

Juan Ayuso Left UAE in a Firestorm. Lidl-Trek Signed Him Anyway. Cycling Is Becoming the NBA.

At 23. A Vuelta podium finisher. A rider with the biggest team in cycling. And a departure that says more about the sport's direction than his own.

52 Years Ago, Merckx Won on This Exact Climb. Cycling Now Comes Back to Finish the Story

The first UCI Road World Championships held outside Europe. Fifty-two years later, the same climb, the same city, and a defending champion from thirty minutes down the road.

Pogacar's C7 Fracture and Broken Collarbone: The Real Recovery Science Says a Worlds Defence in Montreal Is Nearly Impossible

A peer-reviewed study of 111 elite cyclists with isolated clavicle fractures found a mean return-to-competition time of 56.7 days. Pogacar has 27.

"When I Was on the Ground, She Pulled Full Gas": The Rivalry That Broke Open Le Tour Femmes

One corner. Two riders. A 20-year-old caught in the middle. And a five-year rivalry that finally boiled over on the road to Nice.

Demi Vollering Has Won Everything Except This. Montreal Is the Course That Should Suit Her

Eleven wins this season, two Tours de France Femmes, an Ardennes triple. The one jersey she has never worn is the one Montreal was built to hand her.

The Uphill False Flat: Why the 2026 Worlds Finish Will Cook Riders Who Sprint Too Early

It looks flat on TV. It is not. Here is why the final 1.5 kilometres of the Montreal Worlds will decide the race in a physiological zone most riders never train for.