The Belkin Pro Cycling Team will start the Tour of Utah on August 4 with a new face, stagiaire Martijn Tusveld, and welcome back Moreno Hofland.

Hofland returns to racing after a harsh crash in the Tour of California ruled him out for weeks. He broke several ribs and also suffered a fracture in his L2, lower back, vertebrae.

“The doctors said that I wouldn’t be able to train for six or seven weeks. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be fit for the start of the Vuelta, but I recovered very well and I’m pain-free now,” Hofland said. “I’m glad I can ride the Tour of Utah. The first stages offer opportunities for fast men like me. During training rides, my sprints are going well and I’ll just go for it.”

Erik Dekker sent his riders to the United States over a week ago, so that they could adjust to the altitude and the time difference.

“The first two days we’ll ride between 1800 to 3200 meters altitude, which gives you an idea what the race is like. We are well prepared, however."

“We’ll start the race with an open mind. For everyone, this is the first race after a relatively easy period. The roles will be based on qualities, and not completely fixed in advance. For our stagiaire Martijn Tusveld, this is a brilliant chance to step in the spotlight. He’s a talented rider and can handle the parcours. Maybe he can surprise us.”

Tusveld, who normally rides his races in the orange colours of the Rabobank Development Team, looks forward to the wonderful opportunities with the Belkin Pro Cycling Team.

“The atmosphere within the team is very good and we’ve already done some nice training loops through the beautiful Utah area. I know Moreno well as we used to be on the same team and Mathieu Heijboer was my trainer.

“During the race I want to help the team as much as possible. I hope to hang on as long as possible in the mountains. This is a good race for me and I will try to show what I am worth.”

Team line-up:                                                         

Jetse Bol, Moreno Hofland, Martijn Keizer, Wilco Kelderman, Maarten Tjallingii, Martijn Tusveld, Robert Wagner and Dennis van Winden.