André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) will ride both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia in 2014. It will be his first appearance in the Giro d'Italia for four years.

"I'm not afraid of two consecutive grand tours. I absorb stage races quite well," Greipel said, according to Het Nieuwsblad.

Greipel has taken two stage victories in the Giro d'Italia. He won ahead of his then-Highroad teammate Mark Cavendish in Locarno in 2008, and then followed up with a victory in Brescia two years later.

In the last few years, Greipel has skipped the Giro and instead focused on the Tour, where he has won five stages in three attempts.


Greipel says that he will take it a bit easier in the spring, in order to save himself for the Giro and Tour. However, there are some races that remains high on his list of priorities.

"I think I'll lighten my race programme in the spring," Greipel said. "But I still dream of winning a classic like Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne or Gent-Wevelgem."

Greipel will start his season at the Tour Down Under, which begins on January 19.