Visma | Lease a Bike officially announces Tour squad: no Dutch riders and a debutant to help Vingegaard in his quest for yellow

The Tour de France will start in Lille on Saturday, July 5. Vingegaard will be the team's leader in the battle for the yellow jersey. The two-time Tour winner will be supported by Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson, Simon Yates, and Sepp Kuss, among others. On the flatter roads, Tiesj Benoot, Victor Campenaerts, and Edoardo Affini will have to work for Vingegaard.

“With these eight very strong riders, we believe in the plan we made for the Tour de France,” said Grischa Niermann in the press release on the team website. “From day one we will have to be there as a team to optimally assist Jonas in the GC. In addition, there will be opportunities for several riders to go for stage wins.” The first week seems tailor-made for Van Aert, with some difficult stages in Brittany.

Vingegaard will have the recent winner of the Giro d'Italia, Simon Yates, at his side. The British rider won the Grand Tour by striking in the final weekend to take the pink jersey. Affini also rode in that Giro. It will be the Italian's first Tour de France after it was announced earlier that Christophe Laporte will not be able to start.

Visma | Lease a Bike's biggest rival? That is undoubtedly UAE Emirates-XRG, with defending champion Tadej Pogacar. However, Niermann does not consider the Slovenian competitor in his Tour predictions. “We are very deliberately focused on ourselves and our own plan. We have an optimal preparation behind us and with that, we think we can get the best possible result.”