The grand start of the 107th edition of the Tour de France, which will begin in Nice on August 29, is fast approaching. While most teams have not yet announced the names of the riders who will participate in the great loop, the two giants of the peloton (Ineos and Jumbo-Visma) have already announced their selections.
While the element of surprise isn’t exactly a dominant feeling with this new announcement, the confirmation will surely generate a lot of ink in the coming days.
The Ineos team has been hit six for six ahead of this 107th edition. Dave Brailsford’s team will present itself without the winners of 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 (Chris Froome), and 2018 (Geraint Thomas). “Geraint will target the Giro (…). As for Chris, he will target the Vuelta,” explained the manager of the British team, just three days after observing the lack of pace from his riders on the roads of the Dauphiné.
The two headliners will be replaced by Costa Rican climber Andrey Amador and reigning Giro winner Richard Carapaz, who will be tasked with propelling an Egan Bernal whose health remains concerning (as he suffered a fall at the Dauphiné, leading to his withdrawal due to back problems).
On the Jumbo-Visma side, the third-place finisher of last year’s Tour de France was obliged to withdraw after also suffering a heavy fall at the Dauphiné. Suffering from a shoulder fracture, Dutch rider Steven Kruijswijk announced the news yesterday on social media.
— Steven Kruijswijk (@s_kruijswijk) August 20, 2020
“To my great regret, I will not be able to participate in the Tour as I am suffering from a shoulder fracture and multiple abrasions,” explained the climber. “I will recuperate and then focus on the Giro (October 3-25), my new goal,” explained the 33-year-old climber who was serving as a top-tier teammate this year.
However, despite this significant withdrawal, Jumbo-Visma will remain very strong around their leader Primoz Roglic, the other big favorite of the event. Despite also withdrawing due to a crash at the Dauphiné, the Slovenian should be at 100% for the grand start. He will be supported by some big names in the peloton like Tom Dumoulin (winner of the 2017 Giro) and the Belgian phenom Wout van Aert.
