Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) at the start of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Simon Geschke (Sunweb).(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chad Haga (Sunweb) and Christopher Blevins (Axeon) on the climb during the US Pro Road Race National Championships on June 24, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Soren Kragh Andersen (Team Sunweb) rides alone near the end of stage 6 at Tour de Suisse(Image credit: Getty Images)
Laurens Ten Dam will be one of Dumoulin's key domestiques(Image credit: Emily Brammeier)
Nikias Arndt (Sunweb)
Edward Theuns (Team Sunweb)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
A delighted Michael Matthews celebrating his Suisse stage win(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Sunweb are heading into the Tour de France with a goal of learning about the race for a future run at the general classification with Tom Dumoulin.
Coach Tom Veelers said the 2017 Giro d'Italia overall winner will go into the Tour de France without pressure to get results this year, instead focusing on building for a future general classification attempt at the Grande Boucle.
"We've never been to the Tour de France with a GC focus, and it will be a completely new experience for us and a long-term challenge that we are looking forward to," Veelers said in a statement released with the roster announcement.
"We want to get through that process with Tom this year without any pressure on results, creating the foundations to build on in the years to come," Veelers said. "The parcours provide the perfect platform for an exciting race, and after achieving this year's GC goal of a podium at the Giro, we're very motivated to head to France and look forward to seeing what it brings this year."
During his three weeks in July, Dumoulin will have the support of Søren Kragh Andersen, Nikias Arndt, Laurens ten Dam, Simon Geschke, Chad Haga, Michael Matthews and Edward Theuns. Wilco Kelderman was scratched at the last minute because of a shoulder injury and has been replaced by ten Dam
"With the ambitions we have at the Tour ,we've selected the strongest possible configuration of qualities and riders," Veelers said. "Losing Wilco to a re-injured shoulder will be a big loss for us in the team time trial and the mountain stages, but we have Laurens ten Dam to replace him."
Matthews will contest the uphill sprints and on days when the bunch is reduced, while the rest of the roster is configured around Dumoulin's ambitions.
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"Primarily everyone's responsibility is to keep Tom safe during each stage," he said. "Alongside Laurens, we have Chad, Søren, Michael and Simon as the guys to help out on the medium to difficult stages and Edward and Nikias on the flat stages."
Team Sunweb for the Tour de France: Søren Kragh Andersen, Nikias Arndt, Tom Dumoulin, Laurens ten Dam, Simon Geschke, Chad Haga, Michael Matthews, Edward Theuns
