Saturday 29 June Intermarché-Wanty begins his seventh Tour de France in Florence (Tuscany) to reach Nice on July 21st. The Belgian World Team announces a lineup that starts with the ambition of conquering the first stage victory in its history at the Tour and aims for a place in the final top ten.
Seventh at the Tour de France 2022, but also eighth in 2016 and 2017, the South African climber Louis Meintjes he is the man for the overall standings for the fourth consecutive year. This year’s winner in the Basque Country, Meintjes has competed with the best climbers since he joined the World Team in 2021.
The winner of the Giro stage and the Ghent-Wevelgem Biniam Girmay faces his second consecutive Tour de France. The Eritrean rider has demonstrated his great form in recent weeks, with a victory in the Franco-Belgian Circuit, second places at the Brussels Classic and the Rund Umm Köln after the stage podium at the Giro, as well as victory at the Surf Coast Classic in January.
The sprinter Gerben Thijssen he discovers the Grande Boucle for the first time and is one of the three Belgians in the race. Since his arrival at Intermarché-Wanty, he has achieved nine victories: this year he won the Trofeo Palma and a stage of the Volta ao Algarve, and recently took the podium at the Tour of Belgium against Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen.
In addition to Thijssen, the young people Hugo Page And Laurenz Rex they are the other two debutants in the selection for this Tour de France. In 2023 they made a very good debut in a Grand Tour, Page in the Vuelta and Rex in the Giro, with several top 10s. And this season they stood out by contributing to the victories of Girmay and Thijssen, as well as personal successes such as Rex’s victory in Le Samyn and Page’s podium at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
The most experienced figure on this team is Mike Teunissenstage winner at the 2019 Tour de France and yellow jersey, has four Tours under his belt. This season he has played a major role in the sprint train and the classics, alongside Biniam Girmay and Gerben Thijssen, and recently placed fourth in the national championship in the sprint won by Dylan Groenewegen.
The climbers complete the selection Kobe Goossens And Georg Zimmermann. Belgian Goossens made an impressive return to competition after an eight-month injury layoff and immediately entered the top 10 at World Tour level at the Eschborn-Frankfurt classic and the Tour de Romandie. Zimmermann, stage winner on the Dauphiné, begins his fourth consecutive Tour alongside Louis Meintjes, after coming close to victory last year with second place in Issoire.
Aike Visbeek, rperformance manager, explains: « Our objectives in this Tour de France are clear: win the first stage in our history and bring Louis Meintjes into the top 10 of the general classification. The selection we have made has been preparing for this since winter. We had already announced six names, the last two were decided in the last two months. Kobe Goossens was recovering, so it was necessary to evaluate the situation step by step. He is ready, with Georg Zimmermann, to support Louis Meintjes in the mountains. Both will also be important for breakaways, particularly on hilly stages. With a Tour de France under his belt, Biniam Girmay leads our most experienced team. Even though his preparation was affected by the double crash at the Giro, Biniam shows excellent condition and a recent injection of confidence with his victory on the Circuit Franco-Belge. We are in this Tour with another top-level sprinter with Gerben Thijssen, making his debut. This gives us several options tactically in sprint finishes. But above all, Gerben’s goal in this Tour is to learn and gain experience.”
And finally: «Then we have Mike Teunissen as captain and leadout. With Laurenz Rex and Hugo Page, who are also very fast assets with a great engine, they will have the mission of keeping the sprint train in place. There is a mix of experience and young up-and-comers in this selection. We count on Meintjes and Teunissen to take the other riders under their wing. This group has the ability to strengthen itself during the Tour, to give substance to our ambitions and win our first stage of the Tour.”
