Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert to ride Tour de France for Visma-Lease a Bike

Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert are set to line up for Visma-Lease a Bike at the Tour de France, it was announced on Thursday morning.

It had been suspected that both would be riding the Tour, with the pair training at altitude in Tignes in recent weeks, but the announcement confirms that the race will contain two of cycling's biggest stars.

Joining Vingegaard and Van Aert will be Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Wilco Kelderman, and Jan Tratnik.

The participation of Vingegaard was in serious doubt, with the defending champion rushing to recover from injuries sustained in the horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April. The Dane suffered multiple broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a broken collarbone in the incident.

However, his team confirmed that he has recovered enough to "fight for a good result" in the Tour, which begins in Florence next Saturday, although cautioned that there is no real understanding of his condition yet. He has not raced since Itzulia.

"I am excited to start the Tour," Vingegaard said. "The last few months have not always been easy, but I thank my family and the team for their unwavering support. We have worked together to get to this moment, and of course, I am very excited to see where I stand. I feel good and very motivated." 

Visma's sporting director, Merijn Zeeman, said: "I am very proud of Jonas and the coaching team. He is coming back from a serious injury. In the last few weeks, he has shown what a champion he is, both mentally and physically. 

"Of course, we don't know how far he can go yet. We are being cautious because he has not been able to race, and his preparation has been less than ideal, to say the least. But he will be there, healthy and motivated."

Van Aert, meanwhile, was not supposed to be riding the Tour, with the Giro d'Italia and the Olympics his planned focus for the second half of the season. However, the Belgian crashed out of Dwars door Vlaanderen, taking him out of the Classics and the Giro.

The nine-time stage winner's schedule has been reorganised in recent weeks, as a result. He returned to action at the Tour of Norway last month. 

"I am really looking forward to the Tour," Van Aert said. "Of course, this was not the plan initially, but after my development in the last weeks, I really wanted it, and the team agreed. Our main goal is, of course, to ride a top classification with Jonas. I want to contribute to that with an excellent team."

"Just like Jonas, Wout has had to deal with a considerable physical and mental blow." Zeeman added. "But once again, Wout has shown himself to be a rock-solid champion. His class as an athlete and leadership qualities add value to our team. We are happy to have Jonas and Wout at the start, together with an excellent team."

Jorgenson has proved himself as one of the strongest GC riders in the peloton this year, with victory at Paris-Nice in March followed by a second place at the Critérium du Dauphiné this month. If Vingegaard cannot ride for GC, the American is a strong back up option.

Along with the team, a special blue "Renaissance" jersey has been released by the team for the Tour, so they don't clash with the yellow leader's jersey. The team will also be riding blue Cervélo bikes during the race.