It’s more bad news for Jumbo-Visma, as Steven Kruijswijk has abandoned the 2021 Tour de France on stage 17.
The Dutch WorldTour squad has suffered plenty of misfortune during this year’s Tour, as Kruijswijk is the fourth rider from the team to abandon the race.
Jumbo-Visma announced that Kruijswijk had left the Tour after falling ill on the second rest day on Monday (July 12), and wasn’t able to recover as the race restarted on stage 16.
Kruijswijk will now focus on the Vuelta a Espana, his team added.
It’s a blow for Jumbo-Visma, who are currently sitting on the podium with their leader Jonas Vingegaard, who stepped in after Primož Roglič abandoned the race after a crash early in the race.
Vingegaard battled his way into overall contention at the end of the first week, with a strong performance on the summit finish in Tignes.
The Dane was also the only rider who has been able to drop yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), as Vingegaard rode away during the second ascent of Mont Ventoux on stage 11, before Pogačar was able to catch him again on the descent from the summit.
Following Kruisjwijk’s abandon, Jumbo-Visma have now lost 50 per cent of their team, as Robert Gesink, Tony Martin, and Roglič had all previously left the race due to injury.
Roglič had been the chosen leader for the team heading into the race, but he was injured in a crash on stage three.
After battling through the first time trial on stage five, Roglič began to lose time and eventually left the race after stage eight because of his injuries.
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He will now be targeting both the Olympic time trial and road race later this month, before he returns to the Vuelta a España where he hopes to win a third consecutive title in the Spanish Grand Tour.
