Visma-Lease a Bike may have Wout van Aert recovered from illness and back in the lineup at the Ename Samyn Classic on Tuesday, but another key member of the Dutch team has been forced to withdraw.
Christophe Laporte will not be taking part in the cobbled Classic, with his team reporting on the morning of the race "he's not feeling 100% fit" following Opening Weekend.
The Frenchman had led Visma-Lease a Bike into Belgium's season openers at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, finishing fourth at the former before leading out Matthew Brennan to victory at the latter.
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Having already won a stage at the Vuelta a Ancalucía to start his season, Laporte has clearly been in good form over the past month, and so his absence will be a major miss for Visma-Lease a Bike at the 203.8km Ename Samyn Classic.
"Unfortunately, Christophe will not be at the start of Le Samyn. He's not feeling 100% fit," the team reported on Tuesday morning.
Laporte will not be replaced. Instead, Visma will field a six-rider squad for the race. Van Aert heads up a young selection which includes Per Strand Hagenes, Loe van Belle, neo-pro Pietro Matteo, and Visma Development riders Matisse Van Kerckhove and Aldo Taillieu.
A blow to Laporte's comeback from 2025 woes
Laporte, who had developed into one of the world's top Classics riders since his move to Visma-Lease a Bike in 2022, had a nightmare 2025 season, most of which was wiped out by a long-running bout of cytomegalovirus. The virus, which can cause fatigue and can be hard to shake off completely, forced the Frenchman to miss the Classics and the Tour de France.
He returned to racing towards the end of the season with a view to building towards a return to his former level in 2026.
He looked to be back on track with that with his victory in Andalucía, but he later crashed out of the race. He recovered from that to put in a strong showing across both days of the Opening Weekend, giving Visma a boost ahead of the main Spring period.
“I’m pleased that I was still able to deliver a strong result for the team today,” Laporte said after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. “After an unlucky season last year, it’s nice to show myself again in races like this."
The latest illness is a setback for Laporte and his team, who are on a desperate run of bad luck themselves. It remains to be seen if it's just a blip or if Laporte's fitness and form will become a question mark for the main Spring period.
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