7 Certainties and 1 potential name in Visma | Lease a Bike’s Tour de France selection

Vingegaard will approach the Tour with a slightly different build-up this season. For the first time in his career, he will combine the Giro d’Italia with the Tour de France. After previously winning the Vuelta a España, the Dane is now targeting the rare achievement of winning all three Grand Tours, while also believing that racing in Italy will make him stronger for July.

He also believes that riding the Italian race will make him even stronger for the Tour de France. So far in his career Vingegaard has twice combined a Tour and a Vuelta, and in each case he still entered the final week of the second grand tour in very good form — with one extra week between the Italian and French races compared to the Spanish alternative.

In the Tour de France the team expects Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss to be his principal mountain lieutenants. Jorgenson has again chosen not to start as a team leader in a grand tour this year, having cautiously concluded last season that winning a grand tour is difficult if he does not dedicate an entire year’s focus to the effort. Kuss, meanwhile, remains Vingegaard’s trusted climbing sherpa of many years.

Victor Campenaerts will double with Vingegaard just like Kuss. “I have never completed this combination before, and it will be an exciting challenge, but I believe that with the right preparation, I can show the best of myself in both races,” said the Belgian, whom Vingegaard speaks highly of within the team.

On the flat, the horsepower of Wout van Aert will be useful, and he will then also head to the Vuelta with Matthew Brennan. Within limits, Van Aert also gets his own personal chances and has already said he is looking forward to the opening weekend in Barcelona, which includes a team time trial and a hilly stage around Montjuïc. “That is immediately a very big target.”

Christophe Laporte is also in the mix again. The Frenchman rode the Tour de France ten years in a row before sitting out last season with a persistent virus infection. “As a Frenchman, I’m very much looking forward to racing again. As a team we have a big goal: to win the Tour again with Jonas. I want to contribute to that,” he said.

Finally, Bruno Armirail is certain of selection as a newcomer. He replaces Tiesj Benoot, who moved to Decathlon CMA-CGM, and with his time-trialling skills he is also an important man for the team time trial on day one. “Bruno is a rider who can solve many things in a race,” Head of Racing Grischa Niermann said positively about his potential contribution.

The final spot was for Simon Yates, until the Briton announced that he would end his career immediately. Within Visma | Lease a Bike no one would confirm who his replacement would be, but everything points to Ben Tulett. The Brit had — along with Wilco Kelderman and others — already been named as a reserve for the Tour.

Kelderman will spend the entire spring riding with Vingegaard and thus competes in the UAE Tour and Volta a Catalunya before the two begin the Giro d’Italia. In that race Italian young talent Davide Piganzoli will also be present, while spots are again reserved for Bart Lemmen and Edoardo Affini. New addition Timo Kielich normally fills the final place.