Bart Lemmen eyes rare opportunity alongside Giro mission for Jonas Vingegaard

Bart Lemmen kicks off his season on Saturday with the Muscat Classic, followed by the Tour of Oman. The 30-year-old rider from Visma | Lease a Bike is building up in the first part of the season towards the Giro d'Italia, where he is tasked with supporting team leader and top favorite Jonas Vingegaard to the overall victory. Still, he hopes to seize his rare chance with a win himself in 2026, he tells WielerFlits.

There isn’t much change to the program of the former professional soldier compared to 2025. By his own request, he only skips the UAE Tour and instead will travel to Oman next week. “The UAE Tour is definitely a cool race, but I would have ridden it twice in a row. It’s a very specific race for sprinters and then there are the climbs. That can’t be compared to how it is in Europe. I told them I didn’t want to do that anymore.”

In that same conversation with team management, Lemmen said he definitely wants to ride another Grand Tour. “That’s what makes cycling the most fun. That you can fight on so many fronts. When you ride three weeks in a peloton, different rules suddenly apply. It’s so different from a one-day race. I think I’m relatively good at that. Each time, the last week was my best on the bike. We have so many positive memories from the last Giro, I would love to experience that again.”

Besides wishing for a very good Giro, Lemmen has a clear dream for 2026. “I always hope to score a win somewhere. Unfortunately, I missed that again last year. Another second place, this time in the Tour of Slovakia. It doesn’t matter to me in which race it is. I’m so happy to ride in support, and I just enjoy it when I get one, two, or three chances a year to ride for myself. Each time I prove I’m very close, but it would be great if I could finally raise my hands in victory. Who knows, that might happen already next week in Oman.”