Team LottoNL-Jumbo is looking forward to the first edition of the Tour de Yorkshire on Friday with Moreno Hofland leading the sprints. The three-day stage race in England follows a successful Tour the France start in Yorkshire last year.

“It will be a beautiful race,” Sports Director, Nico Verhoeven explained.

“There was a lot of attention from the press during the British stages at the start of last year’s Tour the France. That resulted in the first edition of the Tour de Yorkshire this year.

“With the Giro d’Italia to come, this is a nice race for us to ride. Moreno Hofland and Steven Kruijswijk are able to put the final touches on their preparations. It’s perfect, and better to race three days instead of six hard days with a strong field in the Tour de Romandie.

“We are fielding many young riders. The five will have their chances to go for a good result in the general classification. Besides that, we have some experience with Robert Wagner and Maarten Wynants. We will do the best we can for Moreno in the sprints. It’s tough to assess how hard the race will be, but I’m sure that two of the stages should suit Moreno.”

Cycling Fever

“This will be one of the first races in a long time that suits me well,” Dutchman Moreno Hofland said. “I’m really looking forward to it. I think that there will be a big crowd on the roads. That area seems to have cycling fever.

“I will try to fight for stage victories. My form is good at the moment, but I haven’t been in a bunch sprint for a while. I’m curious to see what will happen.”

General classification

“There won’t be any pressure on the riders,” Verhoeven said. “We will race for the win though. Steven should be able to deliver a good general classification, but the other riders will have their chance to go for that, too. It will be interesting to see how the young riders like Nick van der Lijke and Timo Roosen will react.”

Team line-up:

Moreno Hofland, Steven Kruijswijk, Nick van der Lijke, Barry Markus, Timo Roosen, Mike Teunissen, Robert Wagner & Maarten Wynants.

Sports Director:

Nico Verhoeven.