The ambitious Roompot team was presented today and has unveiled its team kit and its goals. Even though a grand tour is not a must, the team hopes to ride lots of big races and has already secured invitations for all the Flemish classics, the Amstel Gold Race and the Eneco Tour.

Today the new Roompot Orange team was presented in Rotterdam. The Dutch pro continental team consists entirely of Dutch riders and it will be crucial for the future of a number of Dutch pros, according to sports director Jean-Paul van Poppel. "Roompot Orange gives Dutch riders a unique opportunity," he said at the presentation.

At the beginning of his own career, the former top sprinter got such a chance himself. "At Skala I found a home alongside Nico Verhoeven. The larger pro teams didn't want to sign us at the time and a small Belgian team was the alternative. For my career it was very important that I was given such an opportunity. Now we have riders in the team who otherwise would not have had any opportunities. It is now up to them to seize this chance. Certainly not everyone will succeed, but some of them will."

Manager Michael Zijlaard expressed the hope that his team will be in the spotlight in the coming months and put both the squad and the Netherlands on the card. For Van Poppel, it is not enough to be visible though. "Together with Erik Breukink and Michael Boogerd I find that attacks should not be our trademark. An attack of half an hour is nice but it needs to work too. There must be a chance that you can get even more from it. Otherwise we won't do it. If we do, you get a pathetic image. " 

However, Van Poppel is well aware that the team will have to be visible in the coming weeks. "Until the Flemish spring classics we have a nice program, Mallorca, Etoile de Besseges and probably the Volta ao Algarve as a start. Then there is still a lot of gaps to fill. Of course our aim is to ride the big races. Only if we have no other alternative, a 1.2 race in the Netherlands will be of interest."

For Van Poppel, it is not a must to ride a grand tour in 2015. "I think we need to learn more about the potential of our riders in the next few months. But realistically the Vuelta is the only real possibility if we want to ride this year. The Giro is early and I'm not sure that it is a goal that we can really work towards.The Tour de France is always difficult and the Vuelta remains our possibility. If we get the chance, we will grab it. But it is not a must for me."