Marijn van den Berg hoping for a last-minute call-up for Tour de France: "I'm hoping for a phone call, but I'm not sure yet. You never know"

It is still a week and a half until the start of the Tour de France in Florence and that means that the lineups are getting finalized and that's no different for EF Education-EasyPost. The Dutch all-rounder Marijn van den Berg is still on the edge of his seat whether he should pack his bags for a flight to Italy.

Van den Berg himself doesn't dare to say whether he'll make the cut or not, he explains to In de Leiderstrui. "I'm hoping for a phone call, but I'm not sure yet. You never know. I have been involved in the preparation and I hope so, but that's all you can do. I've ridden Boucles de la Mayenne and now Suisse, but I don't dare say it. It is very exciting, but I try not to have too much hope: then it can only turn out better than expected," the Dutchman sounds sensible.

If Van den Berg is there in France, he knows what he wants to go for. "I like the transition stages best, but I can also just get involved in the sprints. That's not my strong point, but just to learn. Furthermore, I just want to help the team. Of course I can position Richard Carapaz, because I'm good at that too."

"Alberto is super motivated. He was of course very disappointed that he dropped out here, but he will be fine towards the start of the Tour. Since I joined the team, I have never seen him so focused. So he can show something beautiful,"