Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux included Boy van Poppel in the selection for the Vuelta a España on Tuesday. The Dutchman is participating in the Tour of Spain for the second time.
Van Poppel, who made his debut in the Vuelta in 2015, acts as the lead-out for sprinter Gerben Thijssen from Belgium. Furthermore, the eight-man selection of Intermarché consists of the Belgian Jan Bakelants, the Czech Jan Hirt, the Dane Julius Johansen, the South African Louis Meintjes, the Italian Domenico Pozzovivo and the Estonian Rein Taaramäe.
“The top ten places of Louis Meintjes in the Tour and of Jan Hirt and Domenico Pozzovivo in the Giro have strengthened our initial plans to send a strong core of climbers to the third and final Grand Tour of the season,” explains sporting director Pieter Vanspeybrouck.
For 34-year-old Van Poppel, the Vuelta will be his eighth big round. Last year he took part in the Tour de France for the second time and previously he rode the Giro d’Italia four times and thus the Vuelta once.
“Boy van Poppel’s knowledge of the terrain in the two Dutch stages is an extra asset, not only for Gerben Thijssen, but also for our classification riders,” says Vanspeybrouck.
The Vuelta starts on Friday with a team time trial in Utrecht, Van Poppel’s hometown. The second stage also finishes in the Domstad and starts in Breda. The third Dutch stage, with start and finish in Breda, also goes through the Netherlands.