For the 4th year in a row, Wout van Aert is at the start of the Tour de France, but the difference with previous times is that he no longer has to sacrifice himself as a servant, but can fully hunt for the stage victories and the green sweater.
To achieve that goal, Jumbo-Visma has split its team in two. Nathan Van Hooydonck and Christophe Laporte will take care of Van Aert in the flat stages and for the sprints, Tiesj Benoot can lend both his buddy Van Aert and the climbers of the team a hand.
Primoz Roglic is in principle still a step above Jonas Vingegaard among those climbers, even though the latter was second last year after Tadej Pogacar. Steven Kruijswijk and Sepp Kuss can put on the servant livery in the mountains.
At Jumbo-Visma they are actually trying to bet on different horses for the first time. “We have several ambitions, so we have chosen riders who can handle multiple terrains,” says sporting director Merijn Zeeman.
“We have to guide our leaders safely through the first week, but also have to make it difficult for the other favorites in the mountains.”
“In addition, Wout deserves sufficient support in his hunt for stage victories and the green jersey. We think that this team should be able to realize our ambitions as best as possible.”
