In 2013 and 2014, Team Giant-Shimano won the opening stage of the Tour de France with Marcel Kittel. Next year the race kicks off with a short time trial in Utrecht and the Dutch team hopes to make it three in a row, with TT specialist Tom Dumoulin aiming for the first yellow jersey on home soil.
A hattrick of yellow jerseys on the opening day of the Tour. That is the secret dream of the Dutch Giant team which attended the Wednesday's presentation of the 102nd Tour de France with satisfaction. "A nice course,"
Iwan Spekenbrink is not a man of bold statements. But with sparkling eyes, the Giant-Alpecin manager made it clear the the opening time trial in Utrecht suits Dutchman Tom Dumoulin perfectly. "This is an opportunity. A time trial, in his home country, in the Tour," he told NOS.
In 2013 and 2014, Marcel Kittel sprinted to the yellow jersey on the first stage and he also has great confidence in his teammate.
"It's not possible for me to take yellow on the first day. But for Tom it is. He was third at the Worlds. He has taken another step and has shown that he is one of the best time trialists in the world. I wonder what he can do next year in front of his home crowd," he told NOS.
8 months before the Tour start, it looks like a battle between him and German Tony Martin.
"Whether he can beat Tony? That's hard to say for me. I don't know what to think. I like both Tony and Tom. I wish it for both of them. I think they are evenly matched. It will depend on the details."
If Dumoulin manages to become the first Dutchman in the yellow jersey since Erik Breukink (1989), it will be difficult to keep it. Stage two should be one for the sprinters and on stage 3, the peloton will climb the Mur de Huy. However, the Giant team have riders for both specialties and in fact Dumoulin should be able to do pretty well on the steep Belgian climb.
Kittel sees the finish in Zealand as a great chance for a stage win.
"That's a sprint stage. I count a total of four or five of them."
For the cobbles and the harder stages, the team can count on John Degenkolb. And on the climb, the young Warren Barguil who has already won two stages and finished in the top 10 of the Vuelta, can take his chance.
"The course suits him but we don't put any pressure on him bye asking him to ride for GC," Spekenbrink said.
And he has the same stance when it comes to Dumoulin.
"Other riders are top favorites. Tony Martin. Fabian Cancellara. They are under pressure."
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