Christophe Laporte returns to competition this weekend. The 32-year-old Frenchman has been unavailable for the entire season for Visma | Lease a Bike due to a persistent virus that sidelined him. At the ADAC Cyclassics Hamburg upcoming Sunday, he will make his comeback after exactly 315 days, sources confirm to Cyclingflash.com and WielerFlits. His last race was Paris-Tours in October 2024.
It has been a difficult year for Laporte, whose patience has been severely tested. His struggles began between the Visma | Lease a Bike training camps in January and February. Somewhere during that period, he contracted cytomegalovirus. It quickly became clear he would miss the Opening Weekend, which soon extended to the entire classic spring season, and to make matters worse, he was even left out of the Tour de France selection, for which he had already been chosen last winter.
Last month, he returned to the team for the first time during a training camp in Tignes, during the Tour de France. Since then, the Frenchman has been working on his fitness, and this Sunday he will step back into racing. It is not clear yet what level of fitness he currently holds. However, Laporte is known in the peloton as someone who doesn’t need much training to achieve a solid level. Still, we should not expect miracles from the Frenchman.
Laporte has now been training for two and a half months following a particularly frustrating period, those close to him reveal. Because there was no injury, there was no clear recovery timeline. Due to the cytomegalovirus, Laporte did not recover well from efforts. After three to four hours of training, he experienced headaches and fatigue. He therefore lacks a good base, which cannot be made up immediately. In the coming races, he will mainly need to regain race rhythm.
After the ADAC Cyclassics this Sunday, Laporte will also start at the Renewi Tour. Afterwards, Visma | Lease a Bike will assess how his body responds to those two races. Only then will both parties decide which program remains viable for Laporte in the final months of the season. Of course, he’s looking forward to returning to competition after these months of misery.
