"The realisation of a childhood dream" - Gerben Thijssen set for Tour de France debut after injury ruins Giro d'Italia plans

For the first time in his career, Intermarché - Wanty's Gerben Thijssen is set to showcase his skills at the Tour de France later this summer. Initially, the Belgian was set to ride the Giro d'Italia before a crash at Scheldeprijs scuppered those plans.

“Despite the pain the first days after the crash, the injury turned out to be less serious than we feared and I could recover fairly quickly. My feeling on the bike is improving day by day, but I still need to be careful with certain movements such as walking," says the 25-year-old to his team's official website. "Not participating in the Giro d’Italia is obviously a disappointment as I was very much looking forward to my debut, but it was the best decision for the rest of my season."

"My new programme offers me enough time to recover. And it also brings renewed motivation as plenty of sprint opportunities await me in May and in June, in races in which I have been successful in the past such as the Ronde van Limburg," Thijssen continues. "Also, making my debut in the Tour de France is the realisation of a childhood dream. It is a reward for my efforts and for the ones who have supported me in my development, en incredible motivating factor.”

A rider with 9 wins on his palmares, Thijssen has twice competed at a Grand Tour (2020 & 2022 Vuelta a Espana), but has never previously been given the nod for the Tour de France.

"Due to his ankle injury, the preparation of Gerben Thijssen towards the Tour of Italy was disturbed and shortened. The medical staff and performance team analysed the situation in consultation with Gerben and considered an alternative programme," explains Intermarché - Wanty's performance manager Aike Visbeek. "We unanimously decided to not take any risks and to offer him a new programme to prepare him in an optimal way for his first participation in the Tour de France. Gerben will line up with ambition for the Belgian classics in May, the Belgium Tour and Belgian championship in June."