This Saturday the Grand Départ of the Tour de France takes place in Utrecht, The Netherlands, a country with as many bicycles as people.
Team Giant-Alpecin will line up once again with the goal of achieving stage wins in sprint stages with difficult finales, intermediate/transition stages and mountain stages.
German sprinter John Degenkolb will lead the team, with a focus on obtaining good results in reduced sprints. With Warren Barguil (FRA), Georg Preidler (AUT) and Ramon Sinkeldam (NED), the team brings three Tour debutants to Utrecht. Barguil’s challenge will be to discover his capabilities in the Tour, which will be an important step in his development as a GC rider.
Other riders representing Team Giant-Alpecin in the team’s fifth start at the Tour include road captain Roy Curvers (NED), who is starting his fourth Tour, and reliable lead-out men Koen de Kort (NED) and Albert Timmer (NED), who have both participated in all the editions of the Tour de France that the team has competed in thus far. The lineup is completed by Tom Dumoulin (NED), who is aiming for a good result in the opening time trial, and Simon Geschke (GER), who together with Dumoulin returns for his third Tour.
Read the full race preview here.
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John Degenkolb (GER)
“I think we will have lots of opportunities, and it would not be smart to focus on only one kind of stage. A lot of people say that the cobblestone stage 4 could be an opportunity for me, but I think we have the flexibility to compete also in other kinds of stages, so we should be prepared for every scenario.
“In the sprint stages with a difficult finale we have a good chance to get a result. I am maybe not the number one favorite in the flat stages, but I see myself as one of the contenders. I have a great team around me, so the chances are pretty good and I am confident.
“I would be very satisfied with one stage win. I’ve tried hard the last two years, and this year I am in a really good form and feel relaxed.
“Regarding the green jersey, we have to consider that day-by-day. If I want to compete for it I will need to mix it up in the intermediate sprints as well, which costs a lot of extra energy, so we’ll have to see.” |
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Warren Barguil (FRA)
"I think I am ready for my first participation in the Tour de France, which is special for me as a French rider. My goal is to continue the progress I have made in this team and see if I can fight for a stage victory.
“In 2013 I won two stages in the Vuelta, and last year my aim was to go for a GC result, which went quite well with eighth overall. Now the aim is to continue this trend at the Tour de France.
“My expectation is that it will be a hard and stressful race and I would love to reach Paris in my first participation at the Tour.” |
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Tom Dumoulin (NED)
“It is very special to start the Tour de France in my home country and I hope for a lot of support along the roads, the presentation was already a great event yesterday.
"Wednesday I did some last intensive training and today we went out on the time trial bike around Utrecht. Tomorrow morning I will do a last recon of the course as part of the final preparations for the prologue. I am getting more and more excited and I am really looking forward to it.
“I prefer not to consider myself as the one and only favorite, because that is simply not the case. Of course, the yellow jersey is interesting. But I don’t think about it all day and force myself to win. I can also be satisfied with second or third." |
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Simon Geschke (GER)
"I am happy to be here at the start of the Tour and to leave my spring season behind, which was not easy because I was focusing on the Ardennes classics and crashed a couple of week before, breaking a collarbone.
"Missing the classics gave me the chance to combine the Giro and the Tour, though, which is the good side of it. I hope to play an important role in helping the team achieve success. Especially with our focus on the sprint stages with a difficult finale I can have my share in the sprint preparation.” |
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Roy Curvers (NED)
“I want to be part of a successful team, as we aim at a stage win. The only way of realizing this is through teamwork, and I want to have an important share in that as a team captain.
“In general, I will have my regular role as team captain in this Tour de France and guide the tactical plan we make as a team every day. In sprint stages I will have my spot in the sprint preparation.” |
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Koen de Kort (NED)
"This year I went to Sierra Nevada for altitude training for the first time. This is usually what climbers do, but it turned out to be very helpful for sprinters as well.
"The team worked hard trying to find specific points where we can improve, and I’m happy I got the opportunity to try it. I actually feel better than I ever have at the start of the Tour, and it’s exciting to start in my home country. I’m looking forward to a great opportunity for us.” |
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Marc Reef (NED)
“We are ready and we can't wait to get started. In everything that happens here in Utrecht you notice that something big is about to happen. It is really nice to see all the events that are organized in the city, which is totally in style for the Grand Départ.
"We get a lot of attention from both press and fans and we expect a lot of people in Utrecht, which motivates and inspires us a lot.
"At the upcoming opening weekend we will immediately have some goals towards which we have been working all season, and we will look to accomplish them with a lot of confidence.” |
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