Eighth rider for Visma | Lease a Bike's Tour squad revealed? Surprising name spotted on altitude training list

Dutch fans were very disappointed when Visma | Lease a Bike announced that no Dutch riders would participate in the Tour. Last year, Wilco Kelderman and Bart Lemmen were at the start, but both were present at the Giro d'Italia last month. Dylan van Baarle also rode in Italy but would not travel to France. Victor Campenaerts, the new recruit, will be there. "Victor has the same bike size as Jonas," Grischa Niermann explained at the time. "By selecting Jan Tratnik, Jonas saved his Tour last year in a gravel ride. We must look at these things or factors when choosing between Dylan and Victor."

Later, however, it was announced that Laporte could not start. The Frenchman has been battling cytomegalovirus since January, which has kept him on the sidelines all spring. The former European champion was a big loss to the classic core of the Killer Bees. It went on and on, so two weeks ago, it was decided that the Tour would also come too soon. This left a spot open in the selection. Was there hope again for the Dutch riders?

A rider like Van Baarle could replace Laporte in many ways, but riders like Kelderman and Steven Kruijswijk could also be really valuable. But it looks like it will be someone else, according to a story by performance chef Rolf Hoekstra. He reveals the Tour selection for the next altitude training, and there is one surprising name among them: Edoardo Affini is heading to Tignes. He will be joined by Wout van Aert, Simon Yates, Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard, and Campenaerts; only Tiesj Benoot is not on the list.