Big changes for Matteo Jorgenson in 2026 race programme

2026 is set to be a different kind of a season for Matteo Jorgenson, who will target the Ardennes Classics rather than the cobbles this Spring. 

After winning Paris-Nice in each of his first two seasons at Visma | Lease a Bike, Jorgenson will also forgo the Race to the Sun in favour of lining up at Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico. In another break with his usual schedule, Jorgenson will warm up for the Tour de France by making his debut at the Tour de Suisse.

“Together with the team, I’ve adjusted my calendar slightly compared to my first two seasons here. I’ve set new goals for myself, and the team fully supports me in that,” Jorgenson said in a statement released by Visma | Lease a Bike. 

“The past two seasons were almost identical for me, so a change was welcome. The coming year brings new impulses and challenges. It felt like the right moment to try something new, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Jorgenson has been a mainstay of Visma’s cobbled Classics unit in the past two years, winning Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2024, but Liège-Bastogne-Liège will be the centrepiece of his Spring in 2026, and his entire programme has been adjusted accordingly.

Rather than chase a third straight win at Paris-Nice, which finishes in his adopted hometown, Jorgenson will race in Italy in March, lining out at Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo.

“At first, I was hesitant when the idea of skipping Paris-Nice was raised, but with my goals later in the season in mind, this is the right decision,” Jorgenson said. “That’s why I’ve chosen to race the Italian block this year.”

It is not yet clear if Jorgenson will forgo the cobbled Classics entirely, but he will lead Visma at Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in late April.

“In 2026 I’ll skip a few of the Flemish races and focus more on the hilly classics,” he said. “Ideally, I’d like to ride all the spring classics, but if you really want to perform well in the Ardennes, you have to make choices. 

“One of my main goals in the spring is Liège–Bastogne–Liège, a race I’m hugely excited about. I feel that this type of race, with longer climbs, suits me better. I’m setting the bar high, and that makes it a great challenge.”

Jorgenson will not be part of Jonas Vingegaard’s supporting cast at the Giro d’Italia, but he is set to play a key role on behalf of the Dane at the Tour in July. After riding the Dauphiné as preparation for his previous four Tour appearances, Jorgenson will make his Tour de Suisse debut. 

The race has been reduced to five days as part of a significant overhaul of the event, and Jorgenson’s opponents will include another Tour de Suisse debutant, Tadej Pogacar.

“The Tour is always the highlight of my season,” Jorgenson said. “I’ll do everything I can to be in top form and to support Jonas Vingegaard as best as possible. Before that, I’ll start in the Tour de Suisse. That’s a deliberate choice by the team. It’s an ideal opportunity to race as a leader for the general classification once again, something that really motivates me.”

Jorgenson placed second overall at the Dauphiné in 2024 before placing eighth at the following month’s Tour de France. He placed 19th at last year’s Tour before riding to 10th at the Vuelta a España, where he helped Vingegaard to final overall victory.

The 26-year-old has a contract with Visma until the end of 2029 and he is still hoping to explore his potential as a Grand Tour leader in that time, though he acknowledged in a recent in-house interview that last season had provided something of a “reality check” on the scale of the task.

Also read:
 

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• Ferrand-Prévot embraces favourite status as Visma | Lease a Bike look ahead to 2026
• 'I've been close to burning out' - Vingegaard respects Simon Yates' retirement decision