Team Jumbo-Visma has two of the main contenders for the overall victory at the Tour de France as well as the big favourite for the green jersey. The team was clearly named with those competing considerations in mind, with a mixture of climbing support and classics specialists who will presumably be utilised in mixed roles throughout the Tour.
The big omission was Australian Rohan Dennis, with the two-time time trial world champion contracting COVID during the Tour de Suisse, with the whole team pulled from the race.
Jumbo-Visma didn't announce who actually contracted the virus, but Dennis confirmed it via an Instagram post. Sepp Kuss, another rider at the Tour de Suisse on the squad, will race at the Tour de France.
Dennis will be a big loss for the team after some stellar performances in recent years as a super domestique for INEOS Grenadiers.
Wout van Aert will lead the squad in the battle for green, while Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard will be the main cards that the squad will play in the fight for the yellow jersey.
The remaining five riders are a mixed bunch, headlined by climbers Sepp Kuss and Steven Kruijswijk, both of whom would be considered overall contenders on a different squad. Christophe Laporte wins a spot after a very strong Classics campaign, while fellow specialist in the tough races, Tiesj Benoot and Nathan Van Hooydonck, complete the squad.
Laporte will likely double as the leadout man for van Aert as he makes his first concerted attempt at winning the points classification. The squad will be at home in the crosswinds and over the cobbles, but arguably doesn’t quite have the same depth of climbers that other teams are likely to bring.
“We have several ambitions, so we have chosen riders who are the best at different terrains”, Merijn Zeeman, sports director for Jumbo-Visma said. "We have to guide our leaders safely through the first hectic week but also be able to make it difficult for the other Tour favourites in the mountains.”
“Wout also deserves sufficient support in his hunt for stage victories and the green jersey. This squad is fit and, in our view, capable of pursuing our ambitions in the best way possible.”
Roglič and Vingegaard were in sparkling form at the recent Criterium du Dauphine as they finished first and second respectively and exhibited strong form on the climbs and in the time trial.
Jumbo-Visma are the first team to announce their team for the Tour de France, with the rest of the teams expected over the next week before the Grand Depart in Copenhagen from July 1.
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