"You have made yourself vulnerable as a team" - Jumbo-Visma's Tour de France selection might backfire according to experts

Stef Clement and Michael Boogerd discussed for NOS whether it was logical for Jumbo-Visma to bring Wout Van Aert to Tour de France without any doubt, despite the fact that his wife Sarah might give birth at the end of Tour de France, in which case the Belgian will leave the race early.

"I assume that Van Aert can also be invaluable at the start of the Tour. You already have difficult stages in the first week with Jaizkibel, Pyrenees and Puy-de-Dôme. Van Aert is going to be irreplacable in those stages. Who else can do what he can? And if his wife gives birth towards the end of the Tour, the cards may have already been shuffled. Then he could be dispensable."

Read also

"Jonas Vingegaard starts as the favourite" claims Tadej Pogacar: "I myself am only just back after an injury"

Clement would have also chosen Giro winner Primoz Roglic. "They have thrown the winning tactic overboard. I find that surprising. Because the best chance of winning the Tour is if they both go, there's no getting around that. You have two of the best three cyclists in the world, so why not take them with you?" he wonders.

"You have made yourself vulnerable as a team. You already leave one of your world top riders at home and another says: "I might go home earlier." In addition, you already miss Steven Kruijswijk and it remains to be seen whether Kuss has recovered well from his efforts in the Giro," Clement sums up.

Read also

Mathieu van der Poel on Tadej Pogacar: “He is one of the most talented riders we have ever seen"

Final startlist Tour de France with BIB | Vingegaard, Pogacar, Cavendish, Van der Poel, Van Aert, Alaphilippe, Bernal, Pidcock, Sagan and Girmay

Team Visma | Lease a Bike

@vismaleaseabike

·Follow

🇫🇷 #TDF2023 Check out the team presentation, training and more in our image gallery ✨👀 #rideyourdreams

124

Reply

Copy link

Read 4 replies