Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson will lead Visma-Lease a Bike’s two-pronged GC method on the eight-day Critérium du Dauphiné that begins on Sunday in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule.
The pair have acknowledged that whereas the opening levels current challenges, they’ll look to the ultimate three levels to make their mark on the general classification. All three embody uphill finishes at Le Collet d’Allevard on stage 6, Samoëns 1600 on stage 7, and Plateau des Glières on the finale stage 8.
Jorgenson additionally famous the issue of the mid-race time trial on stage 4 from Saint-Germain-Laval to Neulise.
“The finale is extraordinarily robust. No one will be capable to disguise there. Even Wednesday’s time trial will make a distinction between the GC contenders,” mentioned Jorgenson of the 35-kilometre take a look at in opposition to the clock.
The Visma-Lease a Bike crew competing on the Critérium du Dauphiné may even embody Dylan van Baarle, Steven Kruijswijk, Tiesj Benoot, Bart Lemmen, and Koen Bouwman. And like many groups and riders, they’ll use the eight-day race as necessary remaining preparations for the Tour de France, which begins on the finish of June.
“We’re going into this race with GC ambitions for myself and Sepp. We begin with seven robust riders, most of whom have ridden collectively just lately in preparation for the Tour,” Jorgenson mentioned.
“The competitors could be very robust with riders like Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso. The extent will undoubtedly be excessive, however that may solely be good after the final coaching block.”
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Jorgenson received Paris-Good and Dwars door Vlaanderen this spring and mentioned that he’s trying ahead to racing once more however that his major purpose is on the Tour de France. “I’m interested in my kind. We are going to all do our greatest,” he mentioned.
2023 Vuelta a España winner Kuss completed eighth at Volta ao Algarve, thirteenth at Volta Ciclista a Catalunya and received the mountain classification on the Itzulia Basque Nation this season.
Sports activities director Frans Maassen mentioned the crew desires to see how far Kuss and Jorgenson can go within the GC. “At Paris-Good, Matteo confirmed he can deal with a week-long stage race properly. Sepp’s qualities have been recognized for some time. He has been indispensable in our latest successes in a number of Grand Excursions. Final 12 months’s Vuelta was the crowning achievement of his profession. Hopefully, he may also be an necessary a part of any success this summer time,” he mentioned.
“We’re going into this race with excessive expectations, however we additionally know that we can’t be at our greatest till the Tour de France in about 4 weeks.”
The crew haven’t but confirmed whether or not two-time Tour de France champion and final 12 months’s Dauphine winner Jonas Vingegaard can be on the beginning line this 12 months’s Tour.
He’s at present heading to an altitude coaching camp in Tignes, France, to proceed his restoration from accidents suffered in a crash on the Itzulia Basque Nation in April.
As well as, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) just lately returned to racing on the Tour of Norway, two months after his horrible crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen
“As a crew administration, we’re curious to see how issues go together with the blokes using the Tour. We nonetheless do not know precisely which riders can be within the squad as a result of we do not know if Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert can be match once more. Now we have to attend and see. We simply wish to do in addition to we are able to on this race. It is a race we’ll have fond recollections of,” Maassen mentioned.
