A transfer twist appears to be brewing in the WorldTour, with multiple reports in the Dutch media — including WielerFlits — claiming that Louis Barré is poised to join Team Visma | Lease a Bike for 2026. The 25-year-old Frenchman has reportedly been released from his Intermarché-Wanty contract a year early following the team’s planned merger with Lotto, opening the door for one of the biggest opportunistic signings of the off-season.Barre’s name has grown steadily over the past two years. Once seen as a late bloomer, the Nantes-born puncheur has developed into one of France’s most consistent performers on hilly terrain. After making his WorldTour debut with Arkéa-Samsic in 2022, he hit his stride under Aike Visbeek’s guidance at Intermarché – Wanty — a team renowned for spotting undervalued talent.
The 2025 season marked his real breakthrough. Barre produced a string of standout results, finishing sixth at both the Amstel Gold Race and GP de Montréal, third on a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, and sixth in the French National Championships. He also completed his first Tour de France, impressing with his attacking racing style and consistency across hilly stages.
His aggressive approach, honed in the Ardennes and Mediterranean classics, has earned comparisons with riders like Benoit Cosnefroy and even a young Tiesj Benoot — making him a perfect stylistic fit for Visma’s approach to one-day racing.
Plugge’s opportunistic move
According to WielerFlits, Visma team management Richard Plugge and Grischa Niermann reopened their 2026 recruitment plans after Cian Uijtdebroeks’ shock transfer to Movistar earlier this autumn. With few riders on the market matching Visma’s aggressive, terrain-versatile profile, Barre quickly emerged as a target.
The deal, if confirmed, would see him join a line-up already brimming with elite depth — from Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert to Sepp Kuss, Olav Kooij and Christophe Laporte — yet it also gives Visma a new long-term project for the Ardennes and rolling-mountain calendar.
Barre in action
A French talent entering his prime
Barre’s story is one of persistence as much as talent. Having spent years developing with CUC Nantes Atlantique, he turned professional late, at 22, after overcoming injury setbacks that once threatened his career. His upward trajectory through Arkéa, then Intermarché, and now reportedly to Visma, reflects both resilience and remarkable late-career progression.
Should the move go through, it would mark Visma’s latest calculated bet on development — a hallmark of their recruitment philosophy that has already transformed riders like Kuss, Benoot and Laporte into world-class performers. And in Barre, they may have unearthed the next name to follow that same path.