Team LottoNL-Jumbo starts with its best possible line-up in the Volta Cyclista a Catalunya. The Spanish stage race starts on Monday, March 21, with Robert Gesink, Wilco Kelderman, Primoz Roglic and Steven Kruijswijk as the team’s main guns.

“We couldn’t bring a better team for this race,” sports director Frans Maassen said of the WorldTour race. “These men are familiar with the area, as well. The level will be very high, but we have a great team to be able to compete.

“Robert Gesink is our front man, he has the biggest chance to deliver a good general classification. Besides that, we want to win a stage. We are going to Catalunya with very strong riders, but they don’t win races easily. The best would be if they could profit from each other and win a stage.”

Target

Gesink is ready to lead the team. “I’ve finished a tough period of training and I’m ready for this race,” he added. “It’s going to be a very hard race because of the profile, but also because of the race’s line-up. It’s the first WorldTour race that I mentioned as a target. Wilco Kelderman and I want to go for a good result in the general classification.”

Line-up:

Koen Bouwman, Robert Gesink, Martijn Keizer, Wilco Kelderman, Steven Kruijswijk, Bert-Jan Lindeman, Primoz Roglic and Alexey Vermeulen.

Sports directors:

Frans Maassen and Addy Engels.