Steven Kruijswijk is the most important link in the selection of Team Jumbo-Visma in the Giro d’Italia. The 33-year-old from Brabant is considered the absolute leader of the Dutch formation in Italy and is aiming for a good classification.
Steven Kruijswijk is the most important link in the selection of Team Jumbo-Visma in the Giro d’Italia. The 33-year-old from Brabant is considered the absolute leader of the Dutch formation in Italy and is aiming for a good classification.
Kruijswijk was originally going to start in the Tour de France as a shadow leader alongside Primoz Roglic and Tom Dumoulin. In the Critérium du Dauphiné, however, he crashed in a descent in the fourth stage. In doing so, he sustained a small fracture in his shoulder, which cost him participation in the Tour de France.
After it became clear that Kruijswijk would not ride the Tour, Jumbo-Visma already announced that he would focus on the Giro. The climber is participating in the Tour of Italy for the eighth time. His best performance was a fourth place in the final classification in 2016. He then rode for a long time in the pink jersey, but eventually lost a lot of time due to a fall and did not finish on the podium.
Kruijswijk receives support in Italy from, among others, Tony Martin, who is currently also active in the Tour. In addition to Kruijswijk, Jumbo-Visma’s selection includes three Dutchmen: Jos van Emden, Antwan Tolhoek and Koen Bouwman.
The rest of the yellow and black brigade in Italy consists of the German Christoph Pfingsten, the Norwegian Tobias Foss and the Australian Chris Harper. The latter two make their debut in a grand tour. Laurens De Plus would also be active in the Giro, but the Belgian is not yet fit for the match and therefore has to postpone his return again.
A month ago, Steven Kruijswijk suffered a fracture in his shoulder in the Critérium du Dauphiné, which cost him his participation in the Tour de France. (Photo: Getty Images)
‘The first week of the Giro is immediately a good test’
“I notice that I feel better and better. My shoulder has not fully healed yet, but I can train without any problems,” said Kruijswijk on the Jumbo-Visma site. “It’s going in the right direction and I’m looking forward to the Giro.”
Kruijswijk hopes that he will be able to start completely complaint-free at the beginning of October. “It will be tough in the first week. In the third stage we already finish uphill. That will be a good indicator to see where I am. I hope that I will be in top shape at the beginning of October, so that I can go for a good classification.”
The Giro starts on Saturday 3 October in Monreale with a 15-kilometer individual time trial to Palermo. Three weeks later, on October 25 in Milan, the Italian stage race will also be concluded with a race against time.