"I was called up to do the 'dirty' work for David" - Lars van den Berg explains his surprising selection for Tour de France

Lars van den Berg didn't really expected to be at the start of this year's Tour de France as the 24-year old Dutchman was called in just a bit more than a week ahead the Grand Départ. Groupama-FDJ explains the process of selection as well as his role within the team in an interview for In de Leiderstrui.

"I got a call last Tuesday morning. Of course I'm super happy with that. It came as a surprise, I never really considered it. I thought the selection was already fairly fixed, but they still decided to switch. I'm not sorry about it, anyway," he said.

"I did get some kind of explanation: that I had ridden well in the Ardennes classics, especially in the support of my leaders. That is the kind of work that the outside world may not recognize, but which is very important for the team.¨"

"Now that Arnaud Démare has been left at home and it's all for David Gaudu, there are also guys who have to do the dirty work," said the Dutchman, who has a good relationship with the leaders of Groupama-FDJ. "I know Gaudu quite well, I've done quite a few races with him already. That actually also applies to Thibaut Pinot too. And I speak French well, so I fit in well with the team."