Dylan Groenewegen will return to racing after his nine-month crash-related ban by riding the Giro d'Italia and not the Tour of Hungary, as had initially been planned.
Jumbo Visma previously said the Dutch sprinter would ride very few races this year as he tries to rebuild his career following the Tour de Pologne crash he caused last year that resulted in such serious injuries to Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep).
However, the team has ditched that plan in favour of starting Groenewegen in the Giro, which begins on May 8th, just 24 hours after his ban concludes.
His return plan has been changed as some of the second tier races he planned to ride are either cancelled or postponed and because a place has opened up in the Jumbo Visma team for the Giro. He will go into the race as an unknown quantity in terms of his form but also as a rider capable of winning several stages if he can find his legs and confidence again.
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Jumbo Visma said he has been included in the team for the Giro to replace Australian rider Chris Harper, who is suffering with an eye condition and has been forced out of contention.
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“We have decided that his place will go to Dylan”, said Merijn Zeeman, one of Jumbo Visma's sports directors. “Dylan is one of our leaders, but he has not been able to race for a long time due to his long suspension.
"We had mapped out a nice program for him that would allow him to return to the peloton in the shadows. However, due to corona, the Tour of Norway has already been postponed and it remains to be seen whether the other races he would ride will remain on the calendar.
"With this solution we opt for more certainty, because after nine months without racing it is the intention for Dylan to return to competition.”
Last August on the opening stage of the Tour de Pologne both Groenewegen and Jakobsen were sprinting for victory when Groenewegen moved to his right to close the door on Jakobsen, who was trying to pass on his inside.
However, that movement caused Jakobsen to crash, on what was a downhill sprint, and when he fell he crashed through the roadside barriers, which failed. Both the barriers and the advertising hoardings on them turned into projectiles that flew into the path of other riders causing a very serious crash.
There were initially fears for Jakobsen's life, and then for his future in the sport. However, while he still requires more surgery and new dental work, he has just returned to racing, with the recent Tour of Turkey his comeback race.
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