Visma-Lease a Bike team manager Richard Plugge liked what he saw at the 2026 Tour de France route presentation in Paris, optimistic that Jonas Vingegaard can challenge four-time winner Tadej Pogačar next July.
The Dane beat Pogačar in 2022 and 2023, but the Slovenian and UAE Team Emirates-XRG bounced back to dominate the Tour in 2024 and 2025.
“We still believe we can fight for the win,” Plugge told Het Laatste Nieuws after the route presentation in the Paris Palais des Congrès, just beyond the Champs Élysées, where the Tour finishes each July.
Plugge is hoping that Visma-Lease a Bike can take on Pogačar on the final decisive stages to L’Alpe d’Huez.
Wout Van Aert went close to a stage victory three times this year, before finally winning stage 21 to Paris that included the climb to Montmartre. The final stage in 2026 again climbs the iconic cobbled streets but via a different road from the Champs Élysées, with more time for some sprinters to catch any attacks.
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