Van Aert again strongest at Heusden-Zolder
Wout van Aert has won at Heusden-Zolder for the third year in a row. On the fast...
Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic will lead Team Jumbo-Visma at the Vuelta a España.
After winning the Giro d'Italia with Primoz Roglic and the Tour de France with Jonas Vingegaard, Team Jumbo-Visma is aiming to complete a unique trilogy at the Vuelta a España, winning all three grand tours in the same year. "It is an ambitious goal that we dare to declare and for which we can field a very versatile and strong eight-man squad in Spain”, sports director Marc Reef says. "We are ready for anything with this team, and I look forward to starting in Barcelona with these riders.”
Team Jumbo-Visma is led by the winners of the last two Grand Tours. Reef: "Vingegaard and Roglic will start the race both as our leaders. Roglic had an excellent preparation with a rest after the Giro and then altitude training followed by the Tour of Burgos. Vingegaard took a break after winning the Tour but then started training again, and the signals we got from him are also very good. The big goal is for one of them to reach Madrid in the red jersey.”
"Valter, Gesink, Van Baarle and Tratnik have their specific qualities, but above all, they are incredibly versatile"
Kuss and Kelderman will support them on the climbs. It will be Kuss' third grand tour of the season, while Kelderman has already ridden the Tour de France. "Both were very important during the Giro and the Tour”, Reef says. "We followed them up well after the Tour. Kuss crashed in the final of the Tour de France, but he recovered quicker than expected. After a period of rest, both Kuss and Kelderman have been able to resume training, and we think they are ready. Their role will be similar to their role in the Tour.”
Van Baarle is also doing the Tour-Vuelta double, while Valter, Tratnik and Gesink, along with Roglic, were already in full preparation for the Vuelta a España while the Tour de France was still going on. "All four of them have their specific qualities, but above all, they are incredibly versatile. They can hold their own both on the flat and in the mountains. They will be essential throughout the Tour, starting with the team time trial in Barcelona.”