Team Visma | Lease a Bike have possibly made their decision when it comes to the riders they will be having at the Tour de France. In Tignes, a few more riders have joined Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert in Tignes; and this may have given the final clues as to who will race the Grand Boucle.
An official announcement does not exist at the time being, but after several weeks training at altitude in the French ski station, it is virtually confirmed that both van Aert and defending champion Vingegaard will race the Tour. Both have suffered horrific injuries this spring but have recovered in time, and both have shown good signs in recent training sessions. Van Aert has been putting in long rides in the mountains whilst Vingegaard overcame his collarbone fracture and is training on the time-trial bike. Since early June, both have been joined by European champion Christophe Laporte.
The Criterium du Dauphiné sidelined two riders who were expected to race the Tour: Steven Kruijswijk and Dylan van Baarle. Both crashed simultaneously and abandoned the race with fractures, ruling them out of the Tour. Matteo Jorgenson rode to second and after a brilliant season, is a certainty in the lineup. Tiesj Benoot has been part of this block, he and Sepp Kuss (who hasn't actually been in good form recently) are also scheduled for months to be in this race.
Jan Tratnik is expected to be the seventh rider in the list. The Slovenian was in the shortlist throughout the season and, with the team's recent injuries, is expected to fit in the role of Dylan van Baarle: An experienced classics rider who can also climb very well. In a picture recently shared, Tratnik is in Tignes, but Sepp Kuss was not yet seen - however this shouldn't be interpreted with concern, as only in recent days did the riders who raced the Dauphiné make the trip.
One spot is left and there are two possibilities. Olav Kooij has talked about how if the team is willing to bet on him, he's ready to make a Tour de France debut. This would be in the case of Jonas Vingegaard missing out on the race, which is highly unlikely. A replacement for Kruijswijk is the most likely scenario and the chances are very high that Wilco Kelderman will fill in the spot, having shown great form (and finished ninth) at the recent Tour de Suisse; months after an injury sidelined him from the initial plan to race the Giro d'Italia.
Team Visma Lease a Bike Tignes training camp squad. 💛🖤 As it looks like this will be their Tour de France team: Jonas Vingegaard 🇩🇰 Wout Van Aert 🇧🇪 Sepp Kuss 🇺🇸 Matteo Jorgenson 🇺🇸 Tiesj Bennot 🇧🇪 Christophe Laporte 🇫🇷 Wilco Kelderman 🇳🇱 Jan Tratnik 🇸🇮
