The Visma-Lease A bike team continues to train at altitude in the French Alps, and photos of the team have sparked further speculation that Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert will ride the 2024 Tour de France. 

The Dutch team has reported that Vingegaard and Van Aert have fully recovered from the spring crash, and team manager Richard Plugge reiterates that if Vinegaard was "100% fit" it would target the Tour de France. 

But all that shows that both riders are standing at the starting line in Florence on Saturday 6/29.

In addition to Vingegaard and Van Aert, team-mates Matteo Jorgenson, Jan Tratnik, Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot posed for photos after a long training in the Alps, which included dirt roads and a 5,100-meter vertical climb. 

The photo appears to show the core of the Visma・Lease A bike team at the Tour de France. The final line-up includes US Sepp Kus and Dutch rider Wilcox-Kelderman is expected to join. 

Vingegaard suffered a hole in his lung and other injuries in the Itzulia Basque country crash on 4 May, but has since made an inconspicuous but steady recovery. He may not be at his best, but he is expected to ride the tour. The Vuelta a España has no plans to form part of his plans, as he is reportedly due to become a second father later this year.   

Van Earle made a major goal in the time trial and road races of the Paris Olympics, but after missing the Giro d'Italia and the team's many injuries, he could also be part of the Bismarck Bike Eight-Rider Tour de France team. On May 2, after a training schedule at the Tour de France, he arrived at an altitude rather than the Olympics.  

Visma-Lease A Bike continues to play a mind game with its main rival Tadej Pogañar and UAE team Emirates, so just before the Grand Department store in Florence on Wednesday, next week's final

Kusu will have to wait until the final mountain stage before the finals after struggling during the race. Leaving the Mau du Dauphine, Visma Rees said he had "decided to have the necessary rest in mind with preparations for the Tour de France in mind." 

But the Americans are expected to play an important role in the mountains again, new signing Jorgenson after his overall second place in the Dauphine

Kelderman broke the collarbone in Paris Nice and missed the Giro d'etalia but crashed in the Dauphine and broke the pelvis and collarbone in Steven Dylan van Baarle, replaced by Van Kruiswick, also crashed from the French stage race and is expected to be replaced by Tratnik. Laporte had only ridden the Giro d'Italia for 1 week and was part of the tour winning team in 2022 and 2023.

Tratnik is due to finish the Giro and move to Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe in 2025, but is considered an important livestock. 

Altitude camp, especially Week 2 and Week 3, is an important test for riders. Van Aart will miss this week's Belgian Time Trial Championship and will be home just for Sunday's road race. 

"For me, it's fifty-fifty whether Jonas will be on the tour or not," Vingegaard coach Tim Heemskerk told Danish newspaper BT last week. 

"If we expected him to be ready for the tour, he needed to be able to follow the program," Heemskerk said. "The first week at altitude was adaptation and recovery, and now he just had a tough week. And now there is another.

"The important thing is how he reacts to it. Can he handle it? Will he get tired?"Next week and the next week are essential to the tour. It's also important for him to get the feeling that "Wow, I'm more and more ready."”