Groenewegen will return to Giro

The day after announcing it The final team configuration (excluding injury, of course) for the Tour de France, Jumbo-Visma did the same on Tuesday with Giro (May 8-30). And if the Dutch team were clearly aiming for the ultimate victory in the Tour de France with Primoz Roglic, that would not be the case in the Giro a priori. Its leader in the overall ranking will be New Zealander George Bennett, whose best result in a Grand Tour was eighth in Giro 2018. But the name to remember from this list of eight contestants is of course Dylan Gronwigen. The Dutchman, who will celebrate his 28th birthday in June, is already back in competition, and has been absent from the pelotons since August 5, 2020. It was that day that caused the terrible downfall of Dutch Deceuninck-Quick Step Fabio Jakobsen in the final race of the first stage of Tour Poland. Jacobsen, who spent several hours in a coma and suffered a severe jaw injury, was only able to resume competition in mid-April during his tour of Turkey. Meanwhile, Groenewegen has been suspended for nine months by the UCI after this incident, until May 2021. He will thus be able to participate in his first race of the year, even if it was Chris Harper who was initially selected. But the Australian caught an eye infection.

How will the peloton react?

“Dylan has worked hard to return but he doesn’t have the pace of the race and will have to find his place on the field after everything that happened. That’s the priority. Dylan served his comment. I hope everyone gives her a chance,” said Mirren Zeman, Jumbo-Visma Sports Director. I have had so many messages that amazed my heart after all that happened, but I also take into consideration the negative reactions regarding my comeback. I spoke to Fabio before he went to Turkey and it was nice to see what he did there. Groenewegen, who would see from the early days of the race commented whether the peloton had forgiven him. We also note in this team the presence of David Decker (23 years old), who is none other than the son of Eric Decker, former Dutch champion and winner of four stages in the Tour de France, of which three were in the year 2000.

The Jumbo-Visma Team for the Giro: Eduardo Aveni (ITA), George Bennett (NZL), Queen Bowman (PBS), David Decker (PBS), Tobias Voss (NOR), Dylan Gronwigen (PBS), Paul Martins (All), Gus Van Emden (PBS)