John Degenkolb and Fabio Jakobsen to miss Tour de France due to ongoing injuries

Picnic PostNL will not be able to call on the services of both riders, who have been serial winners in the past. Degenkolb is a past winner of Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix as well as an 11-time Grand tour stage winner, while Jakobsen has six Grand Tour stage wins on his palmares. 

It marks a significant blow to the Dutch team ahead of the biggest race of the season as they hope to achieve similar success to twelve months ago, where Romain Bardet and Frank van den Broek pulled off a stunning one-two on the opening stage in Rimini, Italy, with Bardet also taking the yellow jersey in what was his final Tour de France.

Degenkolb, who suffered multiple fractures in a crash at the Tour of Flanders, requires additional surgery, while Jakobsen is still building fitness following iliac artery surgery in April.

Team doctor Camiel Aldershof confirmed that Degenkolb's injuries were more severe than initially diagnosed after his Flanders crash, which left him with a fractured collarbone, elbow and wrist.

"The injuries John sustained were more serious than we thought from the initial scans after Flanders," Aldershof said. "He has had extensive surgery and has been able to train indoors under controlled conditions. However, he needs follow-up surgery to remove some of the materials aiding his recovery, which means he won't be ready to race by the beginning of July."

Jakobsen, meanwhile, is making steady progress after undergoing surgery to address blood flow limitations in both legs but remains below the fitness level required for a three-week Grand Tour.

"Fabio had a successful operation and has shown good rehabilitation progress," Aldershof explained. "After resting post-surgery, he started with low-intensity rides indoors, and he has recently transitioned outdoors. Nonetheless, he is still not at the required intensity for a three-week Grand Tour."

The absence of both fast men represents a significant blow to Team Picnic PostNL's stage-hunting capabilities at cycling's biggest race, which begins on July 5.

Head coach Rudi Kemna confirmed both riders had initially been on the team's long list for the Tour but now need to focus on their recoveries.

"At the start of the year, both John and Fabio were included in our long list for the Tour de France, but it's evident that the race comes too early for them," Kemna said. "Our priority now is to ensure that they return to full health and complete a solid training block so they can regain their high performance levels before considering a race schedule for the latter part of the season."

Team Picnic PostNL will announce their final Tour de France roster in the week before the race starts.