Less than 100 days left until Paris Olympics and the hosts do not feel like the favorites for a medal in road cycling. The cycling races will take place from 27 July to 4 August and the most awaited one will be the men’s road race, which will take place on 3 August. The coach of the French national team Thomas Voeckler he explained that he had not yet chosen the riders who will represent France in the Olympic event and at the same time admitted that they will not be the favorites to get on the podium.
«We will certainly not be the best at the start – said Voeckler – because all the biggest names in the group have made this race a goal in all respects».
Olympic gold is coveted by every athlete and in this edition of the Games there will be all the best runners in the world: for the type of route, the favorites should be Van Aert, Evenepoel, Van der Poel, Pogacar, Pedersen, Skjelmose and Pidcock .
«The Games have become a real priority. Wout van Aert was ready to give up the Tour de France to win gold this summer, something unimaginable two or three Olympics ago. We will have the maximum quota (four runners) but we will not be in an advantageous position. It’s not wrong to say that we won’t be on the favorites list.”
In addition to the technical difficulties of the route, with a small number of runners per nation, it will not be easy to play as a team and the runners will be forced to run individually.
«Choosing the runners who will do the Olympic trials is no longer complicated, but different from other times. I hear a lot of criticism about the small size of the group (from 144 riders in Rio in 2016 to 90 in Paris this summer), but this is also fun for me. These are the Games, It doesn’t have to be a normal race. I already have my idea on how we will approach this Olympic race. Whether it will be a good choice or not, I don’t know, but I have my idea.”
The most difficult point of the route will be the Butte Montmartre (1 km at 6.5%), where passing runners will have to fight to stay in front.
«On paper, even though it is a narrow, asphalted road, it will be challenging. He will arrive after more than 200 kilometers of running, a bit like the Poggio of Milan-San Remo, except that at the Games the former will not have five teammates at his side to protect him. We shouldn’t stop at the numbers that aren’t impressive: it won’t look like anything we already know. I have been to see the circuit several times, and I will return again because it is very difficult to understand the difficulty of this final circuit. The official reconnaissance will be decisive because today, with the traffic in Paris, it is impossible to make predictions. But I know it will be very special.”
The last French Olympic medal, in an individual road race, dates back to Melbourne 1956 – the year in which Ercole Baldini won with Arnaud Geyre winning the silver medal, the race was reserved for amateurs -, but Voeckler wants to be realistic and also If these home-made Olympics do not bring medals to cycling, he knows that the chosen riders will have to raise the country’s honor and try to convey important motivations within the French cycling movement.
«We haven’t had a medal for many years, but I don’t even want to deceive anyone about our chances of winning. We have never won an Olympic medal since the competition was opened to professionals. I hope the French team fixes this bug as quickly as possible, but it won’t be the best chance this summer. I can say that all the kids who participate will have to race with commitment and bring momentum to our cycling movement.”
