Dylan Teuns wants to write a new page at Tour de France: "It had been a long time since I rode uphill so smoothly"

Dylan Teuns made the Tour de France selection cut for Israel - Premier Tech and will be a part of what is considered a stage of opportunity hunters, without a serious GC leader. 31-year old Teuns talked with Het Laatse Nieuws about what was a challenging year for him so far.

"When I fell in Bessèges, in February, that was already not ideal," he opens the list of his 2023 struggles. "Shortly before the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad I fell ill. Not too bad, so I got back to training quickly and my goals remained intact. Until I fell ill again just before the Brabantse Pijl. Seriously, this time. For four days I was in bed with a fever, two weeks I stayed off the bike. Partly fueled by my private problems, my mental stress exploded."

"I was good. It had been a long time since I rode uphill so smoothly. It remains to be seen whether my form curve can still grow. I mainly did the heavy work on altitude training in Andorra. After all that misery I had traveled there with little faith. Two of the three weeks I spent there in fog and snow. An additional mental test. But I endured it well."

Teuns will target stage success once again. "Just like last year when it didn't work out. There are no certainties in life. The opening weekend in the Basque Country looks interesting. But it will be a bit of testing there against big guns like Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. I'm curious about the value ratios. Tour will be a different story than Suisse, so I will keep my ambition relatively healthy," concludes Teuns.