« Our goals in this Tour de France are clear: to win our very first stage and place Louis Meintjes in the top 10 of the general classification. The selection we assembled has been preparing for this since the winter. We already had six names known, the last two were decided in the last two months. Kobe Goossens was in the recovery phase, it was necessary to assess the situation step by step. He is ready, with Georg Zimmermann, to support Louis Meintjes in the mountains. Both will also be vigilant to breakaways, particularly in hilly and transitional stages. » « With already a Tour de France under his belt, Biniam Girmay leads our team with more experience. Even if his preparation was adapted due to his double crashinat the Giro, Biniam displays excellent condition and recent boost of confidence with his victory in Circuit Franco-Belge. We are in this Tour with another top sprinter with Gerben Thijssen, making his debut. This gives us several options tactically in the sprint finishes. But above all, Gerben's objective on this Tour is to learn and gain experience.» « Then we have Mike Teunissen as captain and leadout. With Laurenz Rex and Hugo Page, who are also very fast assets with a big engine, they will have the mission of keeping the sprint train in position. There is a mix of experience and young beginners in this selection. We are counting on Meintjes and Teunissen to take the other riders under their wings. This group has the capacity to gain strength throughout this Tour and to achieve our ambitions and win our first stage of the Tour.»
Aike Visbeek Tweet