Dutch WorldTour team LottoNL-Jumbo have announced a strong climbing squad for next week's Volta a Catalunya headlined by Robert Gesink and Steven Kruijswijk. The race will be the second of the season that Gesink and Kruijswijk have raced side by side following the Abu Dhabi Tour. New Zealander George Bennett adds further climbing options for the team having impressed on his season debut with seventh overall in Abu Dhabi.
Kruijswijk comes into the race off the back of Paris-Nice as he continues his build up to the Giro d'Italia in May, aiming to improve upon his fourth place overall in 2016. Gesink will lead the team at the Tour de France and has a slower build up than his younger teammate. Both riders will lead the team at the seven stage race which finishes with a circuit in Barcelona.
The climber friendly Volta a Catalunya has re-introduced a team time trial for 2017 with the outcome of the stage 2 test against the clock crucial to the overall hopes of the GC men. Belgian time trial champion Victor Campenaerts will be key for the team across the 41km stage from Pla de l'Estany to Banyoles. Having recovered from the illness that saw him quit Paris-Nice, Stef Clement will also be key for Gesink and Kruijswijk.
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Martijn Keizer, Bert-Jan Lindeman and American Alexey Vermeulen will complete the LottoNL-Jumbo squad.
Defending champion Nairo Quintana won't be racing in 2017 as he returns home to Colombia following his Tirreno-Adriatico victory last week. However, the Dutch squad will still be up against the likes of Tour de France winners Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) plus former Catalunya winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
LottoNL-Jumbo for Volta a Catalunya: George Bennett, Victor Campenaerts, Stef Clement, Robert Gesink, Martijn Keizer, Steven Kruijswijk, Bert-Jan Lindeman and Alexey Vermeulen.
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