– I understand that “Giro” – the main task of the season, but for the Tour de France everything will be decided after the first Grand Tour?
– That’s right. It’s hard to plan right now. If everything goes well at the Giro, there will be too much pressure before the Tour and it will still take some recovery time, which is not a lot. If you finish the Giro completely tired, it will also be difficult to qualify for the Tour. We will start from the circumstances, the decision will be taken as soon as possible during the season.
How will this affect training? What will the schedule be?
– I will first pass the Vuelta de Valence, then the Strade Bianche, Tirreno Adriatico, Tour des Alpes and Liège.
– An Ardennes “classic”?
— “Flash Wallonne” – and I would also like to skip it – is on the calendar so that there is an intersection with the “Tour des Alpes”. And if you go “Flash Wallonne”, then you have to sit and wait for the next race. We decided not to sit these days and chose the Tour des Alpes.
— How was the decision on the Giro made?
The team suggested. The route suits me and I agree with him. Cuts and mountain stages are a good option. Yes, I also like Giro. Why not?
— Do you run the Giro as captain?
– Yes. There, there will be no one in the “classification” (general classification – approx.) apart from me.
— During the media day, you were asked several questions about Remko Evenepul. Now the story with him until May in all Belgian media will win or not.
– I’m resting. Whoever is the strongest still wins.
– Well, when the pressure is on the opponent, and not on you?
– I think so too. Let all the attention be on him. Maybe they will forget me.
– You were in the top 5 of the Tour. Have you ever learned how to handle such attention?
– I think so. In the end, it’s all about the legs anyway.
Has the offseason gone without incident?
– I always build it according to roughly the same scenario – four weeks off. I traveled a bit.
– You didn’t have a very active end last season – We did some shopping in Italy, but we probably expected more.
– This time after the “Tour”, there was a big break, two months without a race and four “classics”. For me, it’s probably best not to take such breaks during races, or at least take a break at training camp to stay in shape.
– “Cup” in the “Giro” will be 70 km. Isn’t that too much?
– I am doing well in combination with the mountain stages. A separate start is something that needs to be worked on anyway. In addition, the UCI has changed the rules: we will test different positions. The changes in the rules are a plus for me – the ‘horns’ can be extended longer for those over 180cm and the lean angle can be changed to a steeper angle. The position becomes more aerodynamic. I welcome it.
— We have already talked about the Giro route, but not the most remarkable stages for you. What do you like the most?
– Tre Cime di Lavaredo and the last “section”, it is very interesting in terms of relief.
— There was a lot of snow on the Tre Cima the year Vincenzo Nibali won the Giro. Are you afraid of such conditions?
– When the Giro was rolling two years ago, there was a stage with snow, it was shortened, but we still crossed. So all this is already familiar.
Source : MatchTV
I’m John White and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. My specialty is covering sports news, which I’ve been doing for over 6 years now. During this time, I have worked as an author with Athletistic, a popular online news website focusing on sports topics.
