A former winner on the Champs Elysees,
Jordi Meeus knows exactly what it takes to have a successful
Tour de France. Despite taking two World Tour wins in the last week however, the 26-year-old Belgian is looking likely to be left out of
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's lineup for the 2025 edition of the French Grand Tour.
"Technically, I'm still on the reserve list," Meeus explained to the media after his win last weekend at the inaugural
Copenhagen Sprint, noting how Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's goals for the Tour de France are loftier than sprint stage wins. "It's fifty-fifty at the moment. The team’s built around
Primoz Roglic. All I can do is be in the best shape possible."
Meeus had won a stage of the
Tour de Suisse earlier in the week, before abandoning ahead of stage 7 and immediately making the journey to Denmark in order to be on the start line in Copenhagen. On Sunday, the Belgian then stormed to victory ahead of the likes of Arnaud Demare, Dylan Groenewegen and Phil Bauhaus, among others, for his second World Tour win in a matter of days.
Because of this strong form, if Meeus can force his way into Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's, a potential stage 1 win and a spell in the Maillot Jaune is up for grabs for the Belgian. "That opening stage in Lille, with the chance of taking the yellow jersey, gives the whole Tour story something extra. It’s not often you get a shot at wearing the leader’s jersey straight away, so who knows," he previews hopefully.
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe are yet to officially announce their lineup for the 2025 Tour de France, but with only six riders predicted in the provisional startlist (Roglic,
Jan Tratnik, Daniel Martinez,
Aleksandr Vlasov,
Danny van Poppel and
Florian Lipowitz), that would leave two spots open for the likes of Meeus to fight for.
He has a better shot at winning a stage than Roglic, sadly...
That's because he's a sprinter. Sprinters always win more. If I'm not mistaken, both Merlier and Brennan have 10 wins this year, though neither have been as important as Pogačar, who has 11