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"Our biggest competitor is Pogacar" - Jumbo-Visma manager acknowledges challenge of 2023 Tour de France
CyclingSaturday, 29 October 2022 at 12:44
The Tour de France route for 2023 is no longer a secret! Many have step foot in Paris yesterday for the grand reveal of what the Grand Boucle will have to offer this coming season, and defending champions' team manager Merijn Zeeman was one of them.
“These mountain stages are very varied. The Pyrenees are – as I see it now, I still have to delve into it a bit – less tough than in previous years," Zeeman told Wielerflits after the route presentation. "The Alps are a really long block. It is not very difficult there in the beginning, but you do have a very tough ride over the Cormet de Roseland and the Col de la Loze. That block also includes the time trial and then on the last day you also have a ride through the Vosges.”
The manager to Jumbo-Visma has evaluated the main stages that will decide the overall classification. Although the organizers have not revealed the profile of around two thirds of the race, the most decisive days have been mapped out. The race will count with eight mountain stages, of which four have summit finishes, and only 22 (mountainous) kilometers of time-trial, in what is an abnormal route.
“But I think that's good for us," he argues however. "We have a group of riders that can handle many courses. With our leaders, we don't necessarily need a lot of time trial kilometers.” Whilst both Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard are time-trial specialists, the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel do not fall behind and so the differences aren't expected to be high on the day if the main stage-racers in current cycling got together.
“Our biggest competitor is Pogacar”, Zeeman believes however. The Slovenian was present in Paris aswell and has talked of a race where "I’m really motivated to win it again and we will try to do everything we can to win it."
Jumbo-Visma will surely have their work cut out, also with some decisions to make over the winter regarding who will be at the Tour. “This year we were better than he was in the last time trial, but he was better again in the prologue. So that's very close. And it's still 22 kilometers, on an interesting course, with a climb into it at the end. That's also good, because then we can do our best," Zeeman concluded.
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