Update on Wilco Kelderman: Wilco has not yet recovered sufficiently from his collarbone fracture. Because the recovery is taking longer than expected, Wilco has decided together with the team not to start in the Giro d'Italia. Koen Bouwman, who is already in the Giro…
“I’m ready to race again” - Koen Bouwman set to lead Visma | Lease a Bike at the Tour de Romandie after overall victory at the Settimana Coppi e Bartali
CyclingSaturday, 20 April 2024 at 05:30
After it was announced that Wilco Kelderman would not be able to ride the Giro d’Italia for Visma | Lease a Bike in May after fracturing his collarbone on the final stage of Paris-Nice, Koen Bouwman replaced his Dutch compatriot in the team’s roster for the first Grand Tour of the season.
Bouwman took the overall victory at the Settimana Coppi e Bartali last month and is now set to lead the team at the Tour de Romandie next week as his final preparation race ahead of the Giro d’Italia, as he looks to hone his form at the Swiss race.
Looking ahead to the Giro d’Italia next month, where he won two stages and the mountains classification in 2022, Bouwman said that “it’s a pity for Wilco that he did not recover in time, but for me, it is a great opportunity to return to Italy. The Giro is one of the most beautiful races I've ever raced. I look forward to racing there again”.
On how he’s had to change his plans with the addition of the Corsa Rosa to his schedule, the Dutchman went on to say “originally, this race would have been one of my bigger goals, but now that I am riding the Giro, we have changed my training schedule”.
The team’s plans for the race are not solely focused around Bouwman though, as he said “it’ll be nice if we can battle for stage wins. With Tim van Dijke, we have a fast man for the hills, and we will also see if we can ride a good classification with Jan Tratnik”.
His victory Settimana Coppi e Bartali definitely gave him confidence going into his upcoming races though, as he said “it’s a great feeling to win a race. In today’s cycling, the prizes are shared by a small group, so it is good to win a race yourself. I’m ready to race again”.
Visma | Lease a Bike for Tour de Romandie 2024:
Koen Bouwman
Tim van Dijke
Jan Tratnik
Bart Lemmen
Robert Gesink
Johannes Staune-Mittet
Julien Vermote
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- I think you overestimate scientific knowledge and for sure the spreading of it. There are huge numbers of people in similar situations, if there were an easy solution somebody would be making big money out of it. Nerve pain can have many complex origins or be due to complex combinations of reasons. Even if you discover a reason there is not always a solution. Migraines haven’t been solved either. I have had lower back/hip nerve pains on and off for over 30 years, no kind of doctor has ever found a way to reduce, prevent or solve the problem. It may just be that some people are born with nerves that are too short or get twisted out of position during certain movements.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
- Amazing ride by her and very promising for her future. On a side note, it’s a bit worrying all these wins riders have after emotional moments in their lives, someone will come up with emotional doping at some point. Maybe give them fake news just before a big race to get hormones pumping.Mistermaumau22-12-2024
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- It's the BBC. Who cares outside of little Britain.leodis22-12-2024
- Crawl back under your stone.leodis22-12-2024
- Thanks Dadmobk22-12-2024
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- Look at what Froome’s won since his last TdF, stop denying there is still more than possible one outcome to the future.Mistermaumau21-12-2024