The Jumbo-Visma team for the Tour de France will include 2022 winner Jonas Vinegegaard, Wout Van Aert, Dylan van Baarle and the USA’s Sepp Kuss. However senior directeur sportif Merijn Zeeman has indicated that Giro d’Italia winner Primož Roglič will not be part of the final eight-rider squad and is likely to focus on the Vuelta a Espana and/or Il Lombardia after taking a break from racing in July.
Roglič has sent mixed messages since winning the Giro d’Italia a week ago. He reaffirmed that the Tour ‘is missing from my palmares” last Sunday, then during a visit to the Netherlands to celebrate his Giro d’Italia victory, when asked about riding this year’s Tour, said: "No. Maybe. I don't know.”
It was up to Zeeman to give some clarity.
"I'm going to leave Primoz alone for now. After that we will make new plans,” he told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.
“Before the season we pencilled in that he would also ride the Vuelta, so that is certainly a viable option. Primož would also really like to ride and win Il Lombardy. He certainly has those qualities.”
The 2023 Jumbo-Visma line-up will be very similar to the team that helped Jonas Vingegaard defeat Tadej Pogacar in 2022. Van Baarle will replace Roglič in the eight-rider line-up, with the rest of the team the same as in 2022.
Vingegaard is the team’s sole overall contender this year, while van Aert targets stage victories rather than the green points jersey so he can be fresh for the Glasgow World Championships that come two weeks after the Tour ends.
Also in the line-up are van Baarle, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Nathan van Hooydonck and Kuss.
Zeeman indicated that Kelderman was first reserve after he missed the Giro due to the injuries he suffered at Tirreno-Adriatico. Kuss was a late replacement for the Dutch veteran at the Giro but impressed with the way he helped Roglic limit his timer losses in the mountains.
“Wilco is going along in the process towards the Tour. If we turn out to need him, he can be there immediately. We have a strong reserve, that gives peace of mind,” Zeeman said of Kelderman.
Kuss has been recovering at home in Andorra since the Giro d’Italia and is unlikely to race again before the Tour de France.
Vingegaard and some of the Tour de France team are riding the Critérium du Dauphiné which begins on Sunday, while van Aert leads another Jumbo-Visma squad at the Tour de Suisse which begins on June 11.
