The Tour of the Basque Country consists of six stages. Directly on the first day there is a vicious time trial in Bilbao on the programme. The stage race also consists of a flat stage and four mountain stages.

Sports director Frans Maassen is clear about the ambitions of the team. “Our main goal is to win this race. The GC riders will have to work hard from the first day. After the opening time trial we will know immediately where we stand. Stages two and four have very difficult final climbs, with the top in both cases being just a short distance from the finish line. I expect that there will be significant time differences here because the race will explode early on.”

In addition, there is a second goal for the men of Team Jumbo-Visma in the north of Spain. “We are starting with a young team. The idea is for these riders to learn to deal with riding for a leader. I am confident that these men can offer good protection to Primoz and also make steps in their personal process”, Maassen concluded.