Strand Hagenes reported to take final spot in Vingegaard’s Tour de France squad

Per Strand Hagenes is set to be included in Visma | Lease a Bike’s squad for the upcoming Tour de France in support of Jonas Vingegaard’s quest for a Giro-Tour double

According to Het Laatste Nieuws, Strand Hagenes will step into Visma’s squad to replace the injured Christophe Laporte, who had been ruled out for the second year running due to a quadriceps muscle tear he suffered during a training crash. 

If Strand Hagenes features on the start line for Visma on July 4 in Barcelona, it would also mark a Grand Tour debut for the 22-year-old Norwegian. 

Stand out results for Strand Hagenes this season include victory at the Antwerp Port Epic, second at the E3 Saxo Classic, and he was part of the recent winning squad in the team time trial at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Strand Hagenes abandoned the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ahead of stage 7 due to illness alongside Jørgen Nordhagen, less than 24 hours after being in the breakaway. It was the Norwegian’s second stage race of the season so far, meaning that he has yet to line up alongside Vingegaard this season. 

One rider who is also in the fray to replace the injured Laporte was Ben Tulett. 

The British rider was part of Vingegaard’s success at the Vuelta a España last September and has had a strong season, finishing third at Flèche Wallonne and Eschborn-Frankfurt, before recently finishing 17th at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with some strong climbing performances in support of Matteo Jorgenson. 

Tulett confirmed at Eschborn-Frankfurt at the start of May that he was preparing for the Vuelta, but didn’t rule out the prospect of a late call-up. 

“Unless something crazy happens, it will still be the Vuelta. But if there is one team that knows a lot of crazy things can happen on the way to the Grand Tours, it is Visma,” Tulett told In de Leiderstrui. 

After winning the Giro d’Italia in May, Vingegaard is looking to become just the ninth rider, and second in the 21st century, to complete the Giro-Tour double. 

Tadej Pogačar, who achieved the feat in 2024, has beaten Vingegaard to the post in the previous two editions, and another win for the World Champion would mark a record-equalling fifth Tour title. 

Jorgenson, fresh off finishing fourth at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Wout van Aert, who won stage 5, are both set to feature, though the latter faces some late injury concerns. 

Victor Campenaerts and Sepp Kuss were part of the successful Giro squad, with the latter also winning a stage, and both are set to be part of the Tour squad. 

Bruno Armirail and Edoardo Affini round out the Dutch team’s provisional squad and are seemingly set to be joined by Strand Hagenes.