Visma | Lease a Bike removes Olav Kooij’s planned final Giro tune-up entirely from his race schedule

Do not look for Visma | Lease a Bike at Eschborn-Frankfurt this Thursday. The Dutch squad was initially on the provisional start list for the German WorldTour race but has now decided to skip the event as a team. Eschborn-Frankfurt was originally planned as Olav Kooij’s final tune-up before the Giro d’Italia, but after his recent collarbone fracture, the young sprinter will be given extra recovery time before making his racing comeback.

Visma | Lease a Bike last raced Eschborn-Frankfurt back in 2021 but had planned to return this year to the heart of Germany’s financial capital. After a long and demanding spring campaign, however, the team led by Grischa Niermann has decided to give its riders some extra rest.

Originally, Eschborn-Frankfurt was meant to serve as Olav Kooij’s final tune-up before the Giro d’Italia, but after his crash at Gent-Wevelgem, the Dutch sprinter will take a different path toward his Grand Tour debut. Alongside Kooij, Visma | Lease a Bike had also listed Edoardo Affini, Niklas Behrens, Menno Huising, Ben Tulett, Attila Valter, and Tosh Van der Sande on the provisional start list.

Instead of racing Eschborn-Frankfurt, Menno Huising will shift to the Tour de Romandie, while Edoardo Affini and Niklas Behrens already put in heavy work during the cobbled classics. Ben Tulett, Attila Valter, and Tosh Van der Sande also completed the full Ardennes block. In Romandie, the team will primarily look to Matthew Brennan alongside Huising. Joining them at the start line are Tijmen Graat, Julien Vermote, Dan McLay, Jorgen Nordhagen, and Loe van Belle. Cian Uijtdebroeks, who was initially expected to race, will not take part.

Even with Kooij out, Eschborn-Frankfurt will still feature a strong start list. The withdrawal of the Dutchman was balanced by the addition of names like Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), joining a lineup that already included Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor).