Jumbo-Visma are continuing their pursuit of Grand Tour success with an increased budget of €20million.
The Dutch team are dedicated to improving their prospects in three-week races, having increased their focus on innovation and now signing superstar Tom Dumoulin.
Former Giro d’Italia winner Dumoulin will join Steven Kruijswijk and Primož Roglič as general classification leaders at Jumbo, as the team say they are determined to fight for victory in all three Grand Tours, not just the Tour de France.
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Team manager Richard Plugge told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: “We had been aware for some time that Dumoulin was looking for a different environment. We expressed our interest to his manager, it soon became clear that Tom had a preference for our team.
“We spoke extensively with our leaders Primož and Steven, both realised that the arrival of Dumoulin is a reinforcement.
“It increases the chance for everyone to win. Our goal is not just to win the Tour. From the upcoming Vuelta a España, we want to participate in every major tour for the overall victory.”
Jumbo-Visma underwent a sponsorship reshuffle for 2019, with supermarket chain stepping up to become headline sponsor and increasing the budget to around €15million (£13.7million).
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For next season, the budget is expected to increase again to €20million (£18million), still half the budget of the best-funded outfit in the WorldTour, Team Ineos, which operates on an estimated €40million (£36million).
Chief financial officer of Jumbo supermarkets Ton van Veen said: “We are ambitious in both sporting and business terms. With the most important sponsors, we have decided to make an extra contribution. Everyone understands that the team budget will go to €20million. This puts us far away from the most expensive teams in the WorldTour. The team has shown that by acting smart and innovative it belongs to the very best teams.”
