Christophe Laporte: Returning to Former Classics Level After Illness

This spring, Christophe Laporte is aiming to put the nightmare of the past two spring Classics campaigns behind him adn race again as a co-leader with⁢ Visma-Lease a Bike.

The Frenchman won Gent-Wevelgem and dwars door Vlaanderen​ in ⁣2023 but suffered from illness during the spring⁢ of ‍2024, ruling him out of the biggest‌ races, and then had much of his 2025 season ruined by a bout of Cytomegalovirus.

Last year, he only made ​his racing debut in ⁣August before recovering to a good standard in ⁤October, winning the Tour of Holland and finishing on the podium at Binche-Chimay-Binche and Paris-Tours.

this spring, he’s aiming to get back to ⁤his best, he told Sporza.

“I feel good. I feel really good,” he said. “I have there’s no doubt whatsoever that I will be back at the ⁣same level as three years ago. I showed then that I⁣ can win Classics, and I want ​to compete for victory again this spring.”

33-year-old Laporte has put the‌ difficulties of⁢ the past two seasons behind‍ him now and should be among the leaders‍ for Visma this spring. He’ll line⁢ up alongside