Following the announcement of the profiles and route of the 2024 Tour de France on Wednesday, much was made of the gravel on stage 9. According to AG2R Citroën Team's Aurélien Paret-Peintre however, it's much a fuss about nothing.
"As was the case for the cobblestone stage of 2022, it makes a lot of noise for ultimately not much,” says Paret-Peintre in quotes collected by Eurosport following the Tour de France presentation. "Obviously there is a spectacle because there are punctures, the classics guys will be to compete for the win."
A former Giro d'Italia stage winner, Paret-Peintre has been unable to make much impact at the Tour de France in his last two editions, having previously finished 15th overall in 2021. Previewing the gravel of stage 9 at next year's edition of the race, the 27-year-old Frenchman believes it could mirror the aforementioned cobblestone stage of 2022.
"We clearly saw two years ago that with the favourites, as soon as there is a problem, the teammates wait and in the end, we arrived grouped at 80, without there being too many gaps," he recalls. "So it's difficult, yes. It will be a very stressful day, we have to find the equipment to do the necessary reconnaissance... But there won't be too many gaps."
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