dsm-firmenich PostNL doesn't have a Vingegaard or Pogacar in the Tour, so they're shifting focus, putting their trust in Jakobsen's plan

The Critérium du Dauphiné is now well and truly over. In that Tour de France preparation race, but of course also in the Tour of Switzerland and the Baloise Belgium Tour, many teams are striving to put the finishing touches on their Tour squads. In this context, IDLProCycling.com spoke with Matt Winston, who was present as a team manager for DSM-Firmenich PostNL in the French stage race!

The Tour ambitions of the Dutch WorldTour team can once again be described as twofold this year. On one hand, there are the climbing plans (with riders like Oscar Onley, Romain Bardet, Frank van den Broek, and Warren Barguil), while on the other hand, Fabio Jakobsen is expected to shine in the mass sprints. The saying goes first things first, so we first discussed those potential GC plans with the ever-smiling Winston. "Oscar, Warren, and Frank went on a training camp together in Tenerife in May," explained the 37-year-old Winston. "Romain, of course, rode the Giro d'Italia. He won't race anymore before the Tour, but he will spend some time at altitude in France. For Warren, after Tenerife, he will compete in the Dauphiné, followed by another period at altitude."

dsm-firmenich PostNL prefers to focus on stage wins rather than the general classification in the Tour

In that respect, the question naturally arises whether the team would rather focus on a good overall classification or on daily success. In the Giro d'Italia, for example, we saw that Bardet had some difficulty with this, as he was open to both ideas but was never really allowed in the breakaway due to his GC ambitions. The somewhat disappointed Frenchman himself realized this, and recently, he decided to take a different approach in the Tour. So, in his home race, he will likely aim for stage wins, as Winston - whom we spoke to on a sunny morning in Auvergne - confirmed when asked about it. "The selection still needs to be finalized. But I think I can already say that we will not focus entirely on the general classification."

"With the guys who will be going, our main focus will therefore be on achieving good stage results," he continues, referring probably to Onley, Bardet, and Barguil (and maybe also Van den Broek). "And if that's the goal, there's not really a specific hierarchy or anything like that. We'll go there in good spirits and hope to bring home a stage win. But again: I have to say that our team is still far from final, but we will likely start with those four guys as our climbing group. That is, as it looks now, the goal. They have prepared themselves for it through those altitude camps." And speaking of preparations: according to the Brit, everything has gone well. "Everything went well in Tenerife, definitely. The guys had good weather and were able to complete some good training sessions. In terms of health and form, they are definitely in good shape. We are very happy with that. It gives us confidence."

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The tricky Giro issue of Bardet came up again when we specifically discussed the stage ambitions of DSM-Firmenich PostNL. "Romain is indeed a good example of the difficult choices a team has to make. Finding the right balance is and remains difficult. It's certainly not easy when, on one hand, you want to aim for a good overall classification and, on the other hand, you also want to attack for a stage win. Take someone like Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard, perhaps the two best GC riders in the world. They can aim for both the overall classification and stage wins. But if, like us, you're aiming for a top five position in the GC, it becomes difficult to also set stage wins as an additional goal. You won't easily find yourself in the breakaway group, as we have also experienced."

Jakobsen, after Giro DNF, fully focused on Tour: precise names in lead-out train not yet confirmed

Then, of course, there's Jakobsen's plan. The Dutch top sprinter unfortunately crashed in the Giro and had to abandon as a result. In the Tour, he hopes to immerse himself again in the sprinting action and contend for that coveted stage win. "Fabio is indeed back training well," Winston also confirms. "After his withdrawal from the Giro d'Italia, he quickly shifted his focus towards the Tour, also to get everything back on track as quickly as possible. As staff, we are of course very involved in this, as it's one of the key elements within our team. We want to support Fabio as a team and express our confidence in him through a strong lead-out train."

That a strong lead-out train will be set up for Jakobsen is not in question at all. However, who exactly will be part of it is still a bit uncertain, as Winston explains. "The train will definitely be there, although the exact personnel are not yet entirely confirmed. We have thirteen guys on the long list, so five will still have to drop out. Therefore, we also need to ensure that the possible reserves are also well-prepared. That's important too because you never know what might happen in the meantime. An accident or crash, for example, can happen at any moment."

"Fabio, in my opinion, is fully focused on the Tour," concluded the man from Salford regarding Jakobsen. "I believe he is capable of achieving great things there. That's what he's working towards. In the upcoming weeks of preparation, we'll see exactly where he stands and what his form is, but as of now, he's definitely on the right track back. We have every confidence that he will once again achieve those familiar top results. In the Giro, we also extensively analyzed his data and made some decisions based on that. Now that Fabio is truly fully recovered from the crash, we can focus entirely on the Tour with those small adjustments. In the Baloise Belgium Tour, we can already catch a first glimpse of it."