Wout van Aert will not start the 2026 Tour de France after Team Visma | Lease a Bike confirmed that the Belgian has not recovered in time from an elbow injury.
The decision is a major blow for the team’s Tour plans, removing one of Jonas Vingegaard’s most important support riders and one of the most versatile stage-winning threats in the peloton. Van Aert had been due to play a central role across sprint stages, transition days, crosswind sections and the mountain support structure around Vingegaard.
Van Aert misses Tour after wound infection
Van Aert’s Tour hopes were already uncertain after he abandoned the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and then missed the start of Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s altitude training camp in Tignes.
The injury came from a crash in training a week before the renamed Dauphiné, with the situation worsening when an infection developed in the wound on his elbow. After a night in hospital, the team’s medical staff, performance coaches and Van Aert agreed that recovery had to take priority over trying to force a Tour start.
“This is of course a big disappointment,” Van Aert said. “The Tour de France is one of my main goals every year.”
The Belgian said the original crash had disrupted the build-up more severely than hoped.
“Unfortunately, a crash during training has put a spanner in the works, and the injury to my elbow has worsened and has still not healed sufficiently,” he said. “Together with the team, we have concluded that starting the Tour in top form is not feasible at this point.”
Major blow for Vingegaard support
Van Aert’s absence changes the balance of Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s Tour de France squad. Even when he is not racing for himself, he gives the team a rare combination of power, positioning, climbing durability and tactical flexibility.
For Vingegaard, that matters most on the complicated days that do not always look decisive on paper. Van Aert can guide a leader through nervous flat stages, control dangerous breakaways, drive the pace in crosswinds, and still survive deep enough into the mountains to be useful before the final climbs.
He has also been one of the few riders capable of turning a defensive Tour plan into an attacking one. His range means Team Visma | Lease a Bike can chase stage wins, protect GC ambitions and influence race shape on very different terrain.
Losing that option before the race begins removes a key safety net around Vingegaard and leaves the team needing to redistribute several roles across the rest of the line-up.
Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes underlined the problem
Van Aert had shown signs of form at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, including a stage victory, but the race also exposed the seriousness of the elbow issue. His abandon, followed by his absence from the altitude camp, made it clear that the problem was not a simple knock that could be managed quietly in the background.
The later confirmation of an infection explains why the situation escalated. A wound problem can be particularly disruptive for a rider trying to complete the final block of Tour preparation, because it affects not only training but also sleep, recovery and general health.
For a rider expected to arrive at the Tour ready to cover multiple roles immediately, there was little margin. Starting below the required level would have risked both his own recovery and the team’s overall plan.
Focus turns to later-season recovery
Van Aert has now shifted his attention away from the Tour and towards getting healthy for the rest of the season.
“My full focus is now on my recovery so I can return to my best level later this season,” he said.
That leaves Team Visma | Lease a Bike with a difficult late change before one of the most important races of the year. Van Aert’s Tour absence is not simply the loss of a star name. It removes a rider who can make the team function more smoothly across almost every type of stage.
For Van Aert, the decision is a frustrating but sensible one. The Tour de France demands full commitment from the opening weekend, and an infected elbow wound that has not healed properly leaves little room for compromise. His season now becomes a recovery project, while Team Visma | Lease a Bike must head to the Tour without one of the riders most central to their usual race structure.
