Will Tom Dumoulin do the 2016 Giro d'Italia - which starts in the Dutch province of Gelderland - or will he again do the Tour de France? The decision has not been taken although the first talks have been held.

"We are in talks with Tom," manager Iwan Spekenbrink told Cyclingonline.nl. "With our experts and the rider we have shared our views. But it's not a decision we can take right now. We will also be looking at the training sessions and races that we need to prepare Tom optimally for a grand tour. And can he ride the classics? We also son't know the route of the Tour de France yet and so we can not estimate how this race will suit Tom and Warren Barguil."

Wednesday was a big day for Spekenbrink as he announced that both Dumoulin and Barguil have extended their contracts until the end of the 2018 season.

"You can not buy a certain strategy," he said. "With Marcel Kittel, we had a strong sprinter and we have built a sprint train around him. We did the same with John Degenkolb. Now we have riders with options in the grand tours - and Tom has qualities in the time trial - and we will support that. I think the contract extendsions of Tom and Warren indicates that they are convinced that they can continue to become stronger in our team so that we continue to work together to realize our shared ambitions."