The fact that Tim Wellens dropped out of the Tour selection this week is a serious blow to the bill for Lotto-Soudal, but the Belgian WorldTour team has a lot of irons in the fire with Philippe Gilbert, Thomas De Gendt, Caleb Ewan and John Degenkolb . Those 4 musketeers all have at least 1 Tour stage to their credit.
Gilbert starts 10th Tour with home game
Philippe Gilbert (38) starts on Saturday with a home game in the Tour. He lives in Monaco and trains very often in and around starting place Nice. “Still, I don’t think that’s really an advantage,” he said at the team’s video conference in Nice. “It is almost a circuit that we cover, so everyone will have explored this stage once.”
“Some teams may even be several times, so no, the fact that I often train here will not play a role on Saturday, nor Sunday. There are many riders living in Monaco or Nice, so there are many who know this region.”
Gilbert was not there in last year’s Tour, after Deceuninck-Quick Step had not selected him. There is no need to look back, but to look ahead. “You never know what will happen in this period,” he said. “I will be happy if we can start. And once we have left, I hope that we will get to Paris and that I will be there too. That has not been successful recently (both in 2018 after a crash). , as in 2017 he had to give up due to illness, ed.). “
He will not see many people he knows in Nice. “Because of the COVID situation, nobody will come to the start. They will follow the race on television. It is nice to start here, as was the case for me in Liège. But it will be different now at the team presentation. where less public is allowed (currently 1,500, but that can decrease, ed.).
In 2011 Philippe Gilbert wore the yellow jersey. “Anything can happen Saturday,” he realized. “Either it will be a sprint and then with Caleb Ewan we have a big trump card, or it will be something else. Much will also depend on the weather. Rain is predicted, then you will get a different course.”
“When it rains, it will be difficult to keep the peloton together and opportunities will arise. We will see, because Caleb also has a big chance of winning the stage and yellow.”
Philippe Gilbert.
“Be very careful in our bubble”
The measures in the Tour are very strict. If COVID problems arise in the team with 2 people, including mechanics, team leaders or team mates, the entire team has to leave the Tour. Is Gilbert scared? “It is a measure that applies to everyone,” he replied.
“It is a measure that the French government is imposing on the Tour and so they can only accept it and we have to do that too. It is as it is, we are going to have to be very careful and respect our bubble as much as possible. If we do that. , I think you can avoid problems. “
Caleb Ewan won 3 times last year: “I see 6 sprint chances in this Tour”
Caleb Ewan gave Lotto-Soudal 3 stage victories in the Tour de France in 2019. “As a result, I start with a little more stress than last year”, the Australian looked ahead. “But that’s part of the job. I just want to win another stage.”
The Tour of 2020 offers few sprint opportunities. Reason why Arnaud Démare and Fernando Gaviria, among others, ignore the Tour. “I know it will be a tough Tour,” said Ewan. “But I do hope that we can sprint 6 times. For me that is good, those are quite a few opportunities.”
Last year Ewan was the fastest of the pack with 3 sprint victories. “I cannot deny that it gives a little more pressure, but anyway I always want to win as a sprinter. I would be disappointed if I didn’t. How many stage victories I hope for? At least 1.”
Fewer sprinters in the Tour, so fewer teams to check the suit. “It’s not that there were so many teams doing the chase work last year,” he replied. “Three: my team, Deceuninck-Quick Step and Jumbo-Visma. The latter team has other plans this year, so we are only left with 2. It will not be easy, more teams may benefit from an attack, but then we just work even harder to catch the flight back. “
Caleb Ewan wins on the Champs-Elysées in 2019.
Unique chance for yellow
A unique chance for yellow awaits in the opening stage. It is true that some cols have to be overcome along the way, but the last passage over a col is 50 kilometers from the finish, the last 30 kilometers are almost flat.
“It will certainly not be a pure sprint stage, but I think there is still enough time to get back into the valley and sprint when you are released. I hope I will still be there. I live in Monaco and know that we will have tailwind in the valley at that time of the year. “
“In Milan-Sanremo I had to release on the Cipressa, but since then my condition has been increasing and I hope that I will survive those slopes. Saturday is not a 7-hour race like La Primavera and it won’t be that hot either. You can’t compare those rates. “
Last year, Ewan finished 2nd in the green jersey standings behind winner Peter Sagan, on 68 points. Is he busy with green? “No, I think Sagan and Wout van Aert can take points where I cannot. I am aiming for stage victories. One is good, but suppose I feel like the strongest sprinter of the pack, I will be disappointed with 1 If there are others faster, I will be able to live with it. “
De Gendt: “My goal remains the same: a stage win”
Thomas De Gendt has already won 2 stages in the Tour, in 2016 and 2019. “The goal is the same as in other years. Aim for stage win.” De Gendt won the stage to Saint-Etienne last year and hopes to be able to make his move in 2020. Although he did complain about his colleagues in the youngest Dauphiné. “Nobody lets me drive”, he said then.
Yet he hopes things will turn out differently now. “The Dauphiné consisted of only 5 mountain stages, where the GC teams saw danger every day and they wanted to control. They didn’t just let me go. But this is the Tour, there are more stages, more chances and they can’t control every stage, so I expect a little more freedom here. “
“I will still have to fight for it, but in a ride where it is difficult from the start, I just have to try. I have already looked at the roadbook and I see at least 6 opportunities for the attackers, if not there already. will be more. “
Moreover, the Belgian team still has trumps. “With Caleb Ewan we have the fastest man in the peloton. If he wants to take his chance, he has to do it and I will not force anything. The chance that he will win a sprint is greater than that I will finish a flight successfully. bring.”
De Gendt sees opportunities for an attack early on in the Tour. “Yes, in the 2nd stage already, the course lends itself to it, so who knows I will try. You have to grab every chance in the Tour, which will be more special this year because of COVID-19. No, I’m not afraid , you just have to be careful, as you always are as a rider. “
De Gendt has to work without his buddy Tim Wellens. “Yes, I will miss him, not only in the room, but also in the race. He is someone who always goes for it, so that he is not there is a pity for the team.”
Thomas De Gendt soloed to victory last year.
Degenkolb: “Focus is on serving role, but also get freedom”
John Degenkolb discovers the Tour with Lotto for the first time. Just like De Gendt he has every confidence in Caleb Ewan: “He is the fastest at the moment. It is difficult for him to say that, but I have seen a lot of fast sprinters in my career and nobody has the possibilities of Ewan.”
“He is as fast as Marcel Kittel, but he only has to pedal half the wattage, because he is only half the size. That’s a huge advantage. Because he is so small, he can climb quite well too.”
Degenkolb’s role in this Tour is to put Ewan and his lead-out Jasper De Buyst in position for the bunch sprint. His fellow countryman Roger Kluge has to help. “My focus is a serving role in the team. We have a well-balanced team, which is great if you want to win stages.”
The German himself booked his only victory in the Tour in 2018: he won a legendary stage to Roubaix. That is not currently on the course, but Degenkolb sees other opportunities for his own success. “I know how great it is to win a Tour stage.”
“That feeling will stay with you forever. It’s more than worth it to fight for it. There are a lot of transition stages. I think – if I can go for a result – I will also have the freedom to compete for it if necessary. the victory. “
