"The realisation of a childhood dream" - Gerben Thijssen set for Tour de France debut after injury ruins Giro d'Italia plans
Cycling
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."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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Gerben Thijssen → Tour de France 🎯 Our sprinter recovers well from his ankle injury. He will not race the Giro d'Italia, instead prepares his Tour de France debut. More ➡️ intermarche-wanty.eu/news/thijssen-…
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