Team Jumbo-Visma aims for Tour de France and Giro d'Italia in 2023

Team Jumbo-Visma aims for Tour de France and Giro d'Italia in 2023

Just before Christmas, Team Jumbo-Visma presented not only its riders but also its goals for 2023. The recurring theme on that wish list is the pursuit of perfection in the biggest races because, in addition to the cobbled classics, winning the double Giro d'Italia and Tour de France is also a goal for the Dutch formation.

With big aspirations for the final classification, Team Jumbo-Visma will start in May in Fossacesia, Italy. Primoz Roglic has been appointed the leader of the Dutch team. He now has Wilco Kelderman as a super domestique by his side.

"That choice followed some careful deliberation", sportive director Merijn Zeeman acknowledges. "But it fits nicely with Primoz's ambitions.”

"Our ambition is to win the Giro"

Merijn Zeeman

Revenge

Zeeman witnessed the Slovenian ride in pink for several days in 2019 and experienced firsthand why he had openly expressed a desire to compete in the Italian Tour one day. "Primoz rode a strong Giro a few years ago. In the coming edition, he intends to compete for the overall victory. We think the course suits Primoz very well. A powerful team will surround him. Our ambition is to win the Giro."

Familiar

Kelderman is delighted to be working with his former teammates once again. "It pleases me to return to the environment where it once started. I have missed the sense of family that permeates this team. Everything in this place is meticulously organised. I am looking forward to assisting Primoz at the Giro d'Italia", the 31-year-old rider says.

Tour de France

Last season, Team Jumbo-Visma achieved a long-held goal by winning the Tour de France for the first time in the team's history. "And I am only too happy to go and defend that title", Jonas Vingegaard says. "There is something magical about starting with jersey number one. And at the start, I will have more experience than I did during the previous two editions."

"I'm not under any additional pressure right now"

Jonas Vingegaard

Sobriety

The Danish Tour winner is unconcerned by mounting pressure. "I'm not under any additional pressure right now. You might argue that there are greater expectations, but I can also take pleasure in already having a Tour triumph under my belt", Vingegaard says.

The two leaders have already won four grand tours, but Team Jumbo-Visma has never won a double grand tour in one season. How amazing would it be if it changed in 2023?

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