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Landa has been selected to lead the eight-rider squad on home soil when Stage 1 departs from Bilbao on July 1, barely two weeks removed from the tragic loss of teammate Mader.
Mader died from serious injuries sustained in a crash at the Tour de Suisse and the memory of his passing remains a part of the peloton heading into the French Grand Tour, not least of which with his own teammates.
“This year the team and all of us have been impacted by the loss of our friend and teammate, Gino,” Landa said in a press release.
“We need to look at this for extra motivation and to be at our very best every day and try and race for him and honour him.”
The selection of Landa comes after the 33-year-old finished third in the Giro d’Italia last year, with the general classification once again the focus alongside compatriot Pello Bilbao.
Haig, meanwhile, has also been named in the squad and will contest his second Grand Tour of the year after competing in the Giro. Fellow climber Wout Poels will join him, with the duo eyeing stage wins when the race heads to the mountains.
Fred Wright and Matej Mohoric will be hunting opportunities of their own from the breakaway, while Phil Bauhaus and Nikias Arndt will look to the make the most of the Tour’s eight flat stages.
It’s a team Landa hopes can help bring success in the form of stage wins, with the start in Spain particularly exciting.
“The start in the Basque Country is going to be really exciting, I can already feel the fans’ passion and excitement,” Landa said.
“I think it’s going to be a big celebration of cycling, so I’m really happy to be a part of that.”
“I’d love to finish close to the podium in the GC and also look to win a stage, which is also a dream,” he added.
