Competitions

Quotes from Quick Step riders about Tour de France 2011

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Parent Category: Competitions

Category: Tour de France 2011

Published on Wednesday, 20 October 2010 10:04

Written by Luca Salvatelli

Sylvain Chavanel

"I like the route - says Sylvain Chavanel, who wore the yellow jersey for two days and who won two stages in the Grande Boucle 2010 -. It's going to be a very demanding Tour de France. There are four uphill arrivals, one more than in 2010. The 18th stage will finish with a the climb on Col du Galibier, which is sure to be very challenging but also beautiful. The next day will see the same climb again. If I'm as fit as I was this year, and I hope to be, I could be a major player in the race. Beyond the Pyrenees and the Alps, the heart of the Tour also promises to be spectacular. I'm also paying close attention to the stages that cross the Central Massif, which are always open for breaks and attacks; not to mention the first stages in the north on the roads of Bretagne, where you always have to look out for the wind."

Jerome Pineau

"It's definitely going to be a beautiful Tour de France - says Jerome Pineau -. It's going to be bustling right from the very first stages. I think this route will be a perfect fit for my skills. This year, stage after stage along the road I got the chance to fight for the polka dot jersey. It was an important symbol which I managed to wear for a few days but which, unfortunately, also due to some bad luck, I couldn't keep on all the way to Paris. In 2011 the polka dot jersey is going to be one of my objectives. I've realised that I can strive to capture that jersey. For me, as an athlete but especially as a Frenchman, it represents a very prestigious milestone with its own unique charm".

Tom Boonen

"It's going to be a nice Tour, challenging and nervous - says Boonen - right from the start on the roads of Bretagne, which are typified by the wind that beats the Atlantic coasts, and the spectacular as it is insidious ‘Passage du Gois’. Each stage will be a battle, as it always is and always has been at the Grande Boucle. Plus, with the new system for assigning points for the green jersey, the struggle among the sprinters will be harder than ever. In the stages arriving with sprints, there will always be two of them. Whoever is trying for the green jersey will not only have to sprint over the finish line to take the stage, they will also have to sprint at the intermediate sprint that will assign important points up to 15th place. For sprinters' teams it will be important to plan the race with tactics that don't leave too much room for fugitives to manoeuvre and collect important points".