The almost clandestine debut occurred on Tuesday during the Dutch national time trial championships: the characteristic Nike swoosh appeared on the team cars of Visma Lease a Bike. At the end of other technical sponsors and not on the jerseys worn by Van Baarle (second) and teammates, as documented by images published by friends at Wielerflits.

Yet Nike's return to professional cycling is destined to make waves and, why not?, create an era. The US giant was in the peloton until 2011 accompanying Lance Armstrong throughout his competitive career and supporting the Texan's humanitarian initiatives with the Livestrong program. A year later, Nike concluded its path as a supplier of Tour de France leader jerseys and then dedicated itself to individual operations, such as sponsoring Mark Cavendish and, from 2024, Demi Vollering.

Precisely alongside the Dutch champion, for whom they also created a new shoe, Nike has re-entered high-level cycling alongside the French women's team FDJ Suez and now, starting from the Tour de France, has decided to support Vingegaard's Visma Lease a Bike.

The official announcement will certainly come next week, with talks of a significant investment and a growth program, likely linked to the OneCycling project of which Visma is one of the pillars: a project currently rejected by the UCI but believed by many to be destined to take hold.