Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL are ready for the
Tour de France and will be racing for stage wins in multiple terrains throughout the three weeks.
Fabio Jakobsen leads in the sprints whilst
Romain Bardet takes on his
final Tour de France.
Jakobsen, after what is currently being a very difficult season with DSM, will aim for success in the sprints and backing him up will be Nils Eekhoff - who may also try to sprint on some hillier days if the Dutchman can't hold the peloton on the climbs,
Bram Welten and
John Degenkolb. “I am really excited to take on my first Tour de France with Team dsm-firmenich PostNL," Jakobsen said in the
press release.
"We bring a really strong group to the race that can go for stage success on every terrain. I have a nice group around me to target the sprint stages, but with Warren, Frank, Oscar, and Romain, we also have really strong riders for the hilly and mountainous stages. We aim to show strong teamwork and really fight for each other, and if we perform at a high level, I believe we can have a great race together. I can’t wait to get started.”
“This year we come in with the sole focus of going for day results, whether that be in the sprint finishes, in the mountains or on the rolling terrain in between," team DS Matt Winston added. "We have an exciting group of riders who are all committed to that, but we will need to be smart about when and where we use our energy to maximize our chances. In the pure sprints we will go with Fabio as our finisher, with John, TDF debutant Bram and Nils as his final lead out."
No GC aspirations for the team despite having two-time podium finisher Romain Bardet and promising Briton
Oscar Onley who recently finished eighth in the very mountainous Tour de Suisse; and won at Old Willunga Hill back in January at the Tour Down Under. The team will also have a card to play in the popular
Warren Barguil, and Tour of Turkey winner
Frank van den Broek.
"It’s good to have Nils back in action after his recovery from concussion, motivated and ready to go to complete this group in this sprints. In the hills and mountains we have the likes of Romain, Warren, Frank and Oscar – the latter two also on their TDF debut."
Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL for Tour de France:
Romain Bardet
Warren Barguil
John Degenkolb
Nils Eekhoff
Fabio Jakobsen
Oscar Onley; Frank van den Broek
Bram Welten
