Quinten Hermans hopes to help his teammate seize yellow jersey in Bilbao: "It will be important that I can support Van der Poel"

Quinten Hermans will make his grand tour debut in Bilbao at the age of 27. The Belgian who, like his teammate Mathieu van der Poel has extensive cyclo cross history, will assist his Dutch leader in an attempt to seize yellow jersey during the opening weekend, before he hopefully gets his own chance later in the race.

Hermans will have to be sharp from day 1 as the opening weekend will be bread and butter for punchy riders like himself and especially his leader. "I'm really looking forward to it. I've watched those first stages and I've also ridden them a few times. So I kind of know what it will look like. It's not an easy stage, it's going to be a big fight for the yellow jersey."

"It certainly suits me, those first stages, but it will be important for me that I can support Van der Poel. I will be able to do that by getting over those climbs. It is up to us to get over those slopes with a number of riders and assist him in this way," says Hermans in an interview for WielerFlits.

Nevertheless, Hermans also sees opportunities by going into breakaway along the cyclo cross champion. "I think that if you ride in a team with Mathieu, that also offers your own opportunities. For example, if we are in the breakaway together, the other riders will probably look at Mathieu more. That way I can anticipate again. It has its pros and cons."