Ineos Grenadiers dispatch Tour de France leaders to Tour de Suisse

Ineos Grenadiers confirmed that Adam Yates and Dani Martínez will both line up for the Tour de Suisse (June 12-19) as both riders ramp up their preparations ahead of the Tour de France.

Yates and Martínez will be joined by an incredibly strong team that includes Geraint Thomas, Tom Pidcock and Paris-Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle.

Both Yates and Martínez are expected to lead the line for Ineos Grenadiers at the Tour de France in July and the Tour de Suisse will provide a clear indication of their form heading into the French grand tour.

Also read: Analyzing Ineos Grenadiers’ Tour de France long list

Martínez, who was fifth in the Giro d’Italia last year, has yet to lead a team in a grand tour but started the season in flying form.

The Colombian was third overall at the Volta ao Algarve at the start of the season after winning his national time trial championships. He followed that up with third in Paris-Nice and then a stage win and the overall title at the Tour of the Basque Country. Martínez carried that form into the classics with top-10 finishes in two of the Ardennes races.

Yates has followed a slightly different program and has not taken a win yet this season. He was second to Tadej Pogačar at the UAE Tour and followed that with fourth in Paris-Nice. He failed to finish in the Basque Country and hasn’t raced since.

Thomas heads to the Tour de Suisse looking to secure a spot in Ineos’ Tour de France team after a slow start to the campaign.

He was dropped on the key mountain stage at the Tour de Romandie during his last outing in April and hasn’t been in top form since last summer. The 2018 Tour winner will be hoping to make significant progress in Switzerland in order to try and guarantee a spot for July.

Pidcock is also in the frame for a Tour de France spot, despite having his spring ruined by illness. The multi-disciplined rider was initially set to race the Giro d’Italia but had that removed from his schedule with one eye on either the Tour or the Vuelta later this year.

The Tour de Suisse starts on June 12 and finished with a 25.6km time trial in Vaduz on June 19.