Jumbo-Visma have confirmed that Tom Dumoulin will race the Giro d’Italia this year and that the Dutchman will share leadership alongside Tobias Foss.
The Dutch team also announced during Tuesday’s 2022 team presentation in Spain that Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard will be given joint captaincy for the Tour de France in July. The team has not decided on their GC leadership plans for the Vuelta a Espana but Wout van Aert will target the Tour de France Green jersey for the first time in his career.
As reported last week by Cyclingnews, six riders have been confirmed for the Tour de France so far, with Roglic and Vingegaard joined by Rohan Dennis, Sepp Kuss, Steven Kruijswijk and Wout Van Aert. The final two spots on the eight-man Tour roster will be decided after the Spring Classics, while at least 13 riders are on the current longlist.
Roglič, who finished second in the Tour in 2020 but crashed out the following year will share leadership with 2021 revelation Vingegaard as the Dutch squad looks to topple two-time winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
"We head to the Tour de France with two leaders, in Roglič and Vingegaard," team director Merijn Zeeman told Cyclingnews on Tuesday.
"Then we have Wout van Aert in a free role so that he can go for his opportunities. Besides them it's Kuss and Kruijswijk as important helpers in the mountains. Then we have Rohan Dennis who can help in the mountains and on the flat. Those are the six certainties and for the two spots left we have a bigger group and we'll make decisions after the Classics."
The coming months will undoubtedly involve speculation over the team's Tour leadership and whether both Roglič and Vingegaard really start on true equal footing.
Zeeman confirmed that both riders will enjoy the same level of protection and support, although he did acknowledge that Roglič's vast experience might give a natural advantage out on the road with the three-time Vuelta winner looking to secure his maiden Tour.
"Jonas and Primož are both our A leaders, and it's combined," Zeeman said. "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.
"The good thing about cycling is that you never know. On the days that you don't expect something, it's never controlled. Obviously, 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."
The incorporation of new signing Rohan Dennis speaks volumes of the trust between the team and the Australian rider, even at this early stage of their relationship.
Dennis, a rider of undoubted class, walked out of his last Tour de France in 2019 in controversial circumstances while at the Bahrain team, and despite a yellow jersey to his name, his track record over three weeks is patchy, having completed just four of ten Grand Tours. While some of those early departures were planned, his early inclusion in Jumbo's roster is a sign of intent.
"I've been trying to get Rohan in the team for a number of years and it was a great success to bring him across," Zeeman told Cyclingnews.
"We're really excited about that and he has so many qualities. He's very well suited to supporting us in a Grand Tour because he can do the job that Tony Martin did for us but we all know how he helped Geoghegan Hart in the Giro in 2020. For us, he's a dream contribution to the team.
"A lot of things happened [in the past] but I believe in our programme from a physical and mental side. He communicates very well and we're building a good relationship. I don't have any doubts about him and I'm convinced that he will make our team better."
Dumoulin and Foss to the Giro d’Italia
The dual leadership structure at the Tour will be replicated at the Giro d'Italia with former winner Tom Dumoulin lining up alongside Tobias Foss.
The experienced Dutch rider took a break from racing at the start of 2021 due to personal reasons and after skipping Grand Tour duties for a full season he heads to Italy for the first time since 2018. It's unclear whether Dumoulin is still a force in three-week racing but his mid-season comeback in 2021 suggested that his form and motivation are back on track.
"Tom going to the Giro is a very nice and interesting story," Zeeman suggested. "Tom really took his time for personal development and reflection. This is something that he really wants and this is really his ambition for the Giro. For us, it's really exciting news and it makes our line-up really strong.
"We've discussed it together and for three weeks he will give it everything. We don't know yet if he can compete for the win, but we'll have our goal and give him all the support that we can. We're proud that he's back and that he's inspired to go for it."
Foss will likely benefit from Dumoulin's presence with the Norwegian unlikely to share the same levels of pressure and expectancy. The young Norwegian finished ninth overall in the Corsa Rosa in 2021 and won the Tour de l'Avenir in 2019.
"Tobias is one of the guys we're developing for the future. We don't want to put pressure on him but that's the direction in which we think that he can go. Tom is much more experienced and he's one step ahead, but we'll support Tobias. He's still in his development phase, so there's no pressure but we'll prepare him as much as possible."
Zeeman added that the team's plans for the Vuelta a España are not yet finalised but he did add that the start in Holland meant that both Robert Gesink and Kruijswijk would both be on the startlist.
Jumbo-Visma for the 2022 Tour de France
- Primož Roglič
- Jonas Vingegaard
- Wout van Aert
- Steven Kruijswijk
- Rohan Dennis
- Sepp Kuss
- Place unconfirmed
- Place unconfirmed
