Roglič and Vingegaard will both be leaders for Jumbo-Visma at the Tour
Roglič and Vingegaard will both be leaders for Jumbo-Visma at the Tour
Jumbo-Visma has revealed that Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard will both be team leaders at the upcoming Tour de France.
In Roglič and Vingegaard, Jumbo-Visma has the two most recent Tour runners up, respectively, and according to Cyclingnews, team director Merijn Zeeman said that the team sees both riders as top options in the battle for the general classification this year.
“Jonas and Primož are both our A leaders, and it’s combined,” Zeeman said, as Cyclingnews reports. “Obviously, if you look at the palmares then Primož is the big leader, but we start the race with combined leaders. Primož is always in that regard ahead, but we have big confidence in Jonas, and that he can be a leader. We’ll help him and treat him like that as well.”
Zeeman spoke of the unpredictability of the Tour as a key factor in team’s planning for the race.
“The good thing about cycling is that you never know. On the days that you don’t expect something, it’s never controlled,” he said. “Obviously, [Tadej] Pogačar is the two-time Tour de France winner, he’s strong on all terrains and he has a strong team and we’re preparing for months when it comes to our plan and our race plan but the good thing about cycling is that the race can change at any moment. You just need to be prepared as much as possible.”
Being prepared worked out well for Jumbo-Visma in 2021 when any early crash derailed Roglič’s hopes of challenging Pogačar for the overall win. Roglič would ultimately abandon the race, but Vingegaard, who came into the event expecting to support his Slovenian teammate, stepped up into a leadership role and rode his way to runner-up honors in what was his first ever Tour.
Both riders will return to the Tour in 2022 with big ambitions, and Jumbo-Visma has already announced a handful of the riders expected to join them in the race as well. Wout van Aert is expected to make a green jersey bid in the French Grand Tour while also playing a support role for the team’s GC ambitions, and Rohan Dennis, Steven Kruijswijk, and Sepp Kuss are also slated to make the start.
Read More