Jumbo DS Merijn Zeeman: "I have put together the best possible team"

Jumbo-Visma were the first team to announce their Tour de France lineup, perhaps the team in which the battle was the most hotly contested and reported on. Team DS Merijn Zeeman has explained some of the points which people have commented on after the announcement.

“I have put together the best possible team. Nobody gets a mark on their passport. In football, people who do the same job as me get the same comments," Zeeman told Het Nieuwsblad, in reference to having few Dutch riders in the lineup for the race - something that had been expected but has nonetheless been a topic of criticism amongst the Dutch fans.

One of them has been Nathan van Hooydonck, who thrived in the cobbled classics, and has proved himself worthy of a spot at the Tour. “...Van Hooydonck and Laporte are specialists. They come into their own in flat, hectic days," Zeeman said, regarding the opening week which is set to be chaotic. "Benoot can do that too, but he goes along as an all-rounder because he can also ride well uphill. But there are even more reasons why we came to these eight. Everyone knows how the Tour of Switzerland went.”

The Dutch team had suffered from the outbreak of Covid-19 at the Tour de Suisse, with the team abandoning before the mountainous stages. Only one rider from that lineup has been selected, which is Sepp Kuss who will be aiding the leaders in the mountains.

Finally, Zeeman was also asked about Wout van Aert's hopes, in which he stated once more: "Green is Wout's main goal. We will do our best as a team. But how? That shows the course. Of course he also has to support Primoz and Jonas, but that will also be the case the other way around."