Matteo Jorgenson’s 2026 Calendar Redesign: Strategies & Insights
- There's no guaranteed grand tour leadership, no cobblestone classics, and no Paris-Nice title defense for Matteo Jorgenson in 2026.
- Instead,the rising U.S. superstar will pivot to the hilly classics and play wingman for Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France in a radically redesigned program for the...
- The 26-year-old acknowledged it's all a bit of a "WTF" at the Visma-Lease a Bike season launch on Tuesday.
Updated January 14, 2026 04:53AM
There’s no guaranteed grand tour leadership, no cobblestone classics, and no Paris-Nice title defense for Matteo Jorgenson in 2026.
Instead,the rising U.S. superstar will pivot to the hilly classics and play wingman for Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France in a radically redesigned program for the new year.
The 26-year-old acknowledged it’s all a bit of a “WTF” at the Visma-Lease a Bike season launch on Tuesday.
“The past two seasons were almost identical for me, so a change was welcome,” Jorgenson said. “The coming year brings new impulses and challenges.
“It felt like the right moment to try something new, and I’m realy looking forward to it,” he said.
Long hailed as one of USA’s most promising stage-racers and a potential cobblestone contender, Jorgenson is going to have to become even more versatile in 2026.
Strade Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-liège, and Il Lombardia are three pillars of a totally new season that ventures deep into Pogačar territory.
“The last two years, I’ve had identical training camp situations and races. That was nice to do, and it gave me familiarity. but it got all to predictable,” Jorgenson said.
“I wanted something different,and that’s what I got. I think it will be a nice wind of fresh air.”
More fresh breeze comes to the Idahoan with only his second starts at Milan-San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, and a debut at the Tour de Suisse.
Matteo Jorgenson: Provisional 2026 schedule
- 28/02-01/03: Ardèche & Drôme Classic
- 07/03: Strade Bianche
- 09/03-15/03: Tirreno-Adriatico
- 21/03: Milano-San Remo
- 19/04-26/04: amstel, Flèche, Liège
- 17-06-21/06: Tour de Suisse
- 04/07-26/07: Tour de France
- 10/10: il Lombardia
No cobbles, no Paris-Nice as Jorgenson rips up scheduling script
vingegaard’s strategy, outlined during the team’s media day, aims to replicate Pogačar’s attempt to compete in both major grand tours, as detailed in Velo on January 14, 2026.
Visma-Lease a Bike also announced its plans for the Vuelta a España. Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan will lead the team, while Ben Tulett and Jørgen Nordhagen will be given opportunities to compete for stage wins in the mountains.
