Degenkolb heads thirteen rider shortlist for upcoming Grand Tour
As the countdown continues until the May 4th start of the Giro d’Italia, the Argos Shimano team has announced the name of the thirteen riders who are in contention for the final lineup of nine places on the squad for the race.
The selected group will have the distinction of being part of the team’s first-ever participation in the Grand Tour, something which general manger Iwan Spekenbrink is looking forward to.
“We are very pleased to take part in the Giro d’Italia, our first in the team’s history,” he stated. “It will definitely be an interesting and challenging race, it looks balanced but not easy.”
The team shone in last year’s Vuelta a España, where John Degenkolb clocked up five stage wins. The German sprinter is one of the thirteen named today, as is his compatriot Patrick Gretsch, the Dutch riders Koen de Kort, Tom Stamsnijder and Albert Timmer, Frenchmen Thomas Damuseau and Matthieu Sprick, Bert de Backer (Belgium), Cheng Ji (China), Tobias Ludvigsson (Sweden), Luka Mezgec (Slovenia), Tom Peterson (USA) and Georg Preidler of Austria.
The 3,405 kilometre race includes eight mountains stages, but also the flatter stages which should better suit the team’s strengths.
“We have a good mix of riders on the team, and we will have several options,” said Spekenbrink. “In addition to experienced riders, we have preselected some young riders who we think are ready to step up and participate in a big race like the Giro d’Italia.”
The team’s final selection of nine riders will be announced at a later date.
Argos Shimano pre-selection for Giro d’Italia:
Bert de Backer (BEL)
Thomas Damuseau (FRA)
John Degenkolb (GER)
Patrick Gretsch (GER)
Cheng Ji (CHN)
Koen de Kort (NED)
Tobias Ludvigsson (SWE)
Luka Mezgec (SLO)
Tom Peterson (USA)
Georg Preidler (AUT)
Matthieu Sprick (FRA)
Tom Stamsnijder (NED)
Albert Timmer (NED)