INBICI MEDIA GROUP Rivista per ciclisti, InBici Magazine, Passione sui Pedali
The return of the Tour de France in 2020 is a sure sign that cycling is back. For the women, the popular La Course by Le Tour de France is also a significant milestone. And while the events will look different in many ways, with extensive health and safety precautions for those attending, the racing promises to be the same: very fast and always aggressive. For many riders, it’s their first opportunity to race in nearly five months. SRAM®, Zipp® and Quarq® look forward to once again supporting their teams.
On the men’s side, SRAM’s RED eTap AXS componentry will be ridden by the Trek-Segafredo Men and Movistar Team, with Movistar also rolling on Zipp wheels. The women’s race will feature Trek-Segafredo Women, Movistar Team, CANYON//SRAM Racing, Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team, and CCC-Liv Team. Movistar Team, CANYON//SRAM Racing, and Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team are all also on Zipp. All SRAM AXS drivetrains feature Quarq power meter technology.
SRAM’s sponsorship centers on the growth of cycling, strong partnerships, and product development. SRAM’s employees are fans too, and take great personal satisfaction in our riders’ successes.
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team):
“I feel like you need to get to the Tour de France as close as possible to 100 percent of your form. From the first to the last day, even if there are flat or mid-mountain stages for most of the opening week, you go so fast and the nerves are so high that you need to be on top of your game. Maximum focus is required during the whole race. The TDF is always a big motivation, and having Enric with us, who can aim for a good overall result, makes me feel excited about this race and supporting him – I really want Enric to do well. It’s going to be a short, intense last part of the season. I just hope the fans enjoy the race and can support us, because we’ll give our maximum for them to watch a good show.”
Marc Soler (Movistar Team)
“It’s been a really quick decision, taken only few weeks before the race (I was expected to ride only the Giro), and even if I haven’t been able to get to Nice in as good of a condition as I wanted -I won’t be bad, either-, as soon as we took that decision that I’d finally attend, we have turned our heads to that goal and it will be the most important thing for me in the upcoming weeks. We’re entering the race with an aim of supporting both Alejandro and Enric, which are the two riders who have been the most focused on tackling this TDF with 100% condition, and I hope to steadily improve over the race and be a good asset for the whole team.”
Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo Men)
“I’m really looking forward to the Tour de France. Hopefully, I can be up there fighting for the GC and simultaneously looking for stages. In this Tour we will have some mountain stages already in the first week, so if I’m at a good level I think there will be opportunities to go for a stage win as well. In this strange year I think we have to seize every opportunity you can. I’ve done quite a bit of recon, so I know the course pretty well. I’ve looked closely at eight stages and I know this will be a very hard Tour, especially the last week, when the race will be decided. However, the first week will already be extremely hard so you must be ready from the start. I’ve prepared well, the training has been good for the last months and I think I’ve shown to be on a good level in the races I did, specifically Occitanie, Tour de L’Ain and Il Lombardia. They went really well so hopefully I can build on that and show a good level in the Tour as well.”
Jolien D’Hoore (Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team):
“I’ve only done La Course on the Champs Elysées so far. The best result in this race was a 2nd place behind… Anna VDB (not a teammate at that time). I’m looking forward to ride a course a bit more out of my comfort zone. Right now I’m just so keen to race again!”
Christine Majerus (Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team)
“These times every race we can actually race seems to be important but of course especially for the men the TDF is the most iconic race of the year and probably also the most followed one. I guess that this year’s race will be even more looked at as it is very symbolic for the sport after a complicated lockdown period. It might be a rather short race but it will be hard enough with two 5km climbs. The goal will of course be to have one of us in the mix for the win.”
Tiffany Cromwell (CANYON//SRAM Racing):
“It will be hard. It’s not a long race, but when you have the exposure that it gets, teams want to showcase the sport in the best way possible. I believe the climb with be raced hard, but I don’t think it will have the ability to completely destroy the field as it’s a long way to the finish where it can come back together. But I think it can be an aggressive race that can favor a breakaway or also come down to a sprint with around half of the peloton. My personal goal is to race hard and aggressively within the teams plans. I know the roads and I believe I can get around the course. I would like to have a crack and be part of the race at the pointy end.”
Jess Pratt (CANYON//SRAM Racing):
“I am super excited to be racing La Course by Le Tour de France, such a significant race on the women’s calendar due to the exposure the race usually receives. After 2.5 weeks in Spain, I’m settling in well and training has been going well. I know I can have a strong contribution to the team and I’m aiming to build on my performance at La Perigord. Of course I’ll have nerves, but I’ll try to use them positively. The parcours looks quite unique. A two lap course with climbing from the start. After the initial climb it is a mostly flat/ downhill run to the finish line, before commencing the same lap again. I don’t expect the heat to play as much havoc as the other races this month as it’s on the coast, and at the moment even a summer storm is forecast. The race is short, but that will just make it more aggressive and exciting.”
Jeroen Blijlevens (Sports director, CCC-Liv Team):
“We will start with a strong team and hope to finish high in the ranking. Last year we won La Course with Marianne Vos. The course is largely comparable to 2019. Although the climb, the Côte de Rimiez which needs to be covered twice, is a bit longer with 6 kilometres and at the same time less steep than last year. After the last climb, there is a descent and a flat stretch of 30 kilometres to the finish line in Nice. We will have to race attentively as a team to be successful and jump at the right moments.”
Men’s Tour de France Team Rosters:
Movistar Team (ESP):
- Dario Cataldo (ITA)
- Imanol Erviti (ESP)
- Enric Mas (ESP)
- Nelson Oliviera (POR)
- José Joaquín Rojas (ESP)
- Marc Soler (ESP)
- Alejandro Valverde (ESP)
- Carlos Verona (ESP)
Componentry: SRAM RED eTap AXS, Zipp wheels, Quarq power
IG: @movistar_team
Trek–Segafredo Men (USA):
- Niklas Eg (DEN)
- Kenny Ellisonde (FRA)
- Bauke Mollema (NED)
- Mads Pedersen (DEN)
- Richie Porte (AUS)
- Toms Skujins (LAT)
- Jasper Stuyven (BEL)
- Edward Theuns (BEL)
Componentry: SRAM RED eTap AXS
IG: @treksegafredo
Women’s La Course by Le Tour de France Team Rosters:
Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team (NED):
- Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (NED)
- Christine Majerus (LUX)
- Lonneke Uneken (NED)
- Jolien D’Hoore (BEL)
- Amalie Dideriksen (DEN)
- Jip van den Bos (NED)
Componentry: SRAM RED eTap AXS, Zipp wheels, handlebars, stems and seatposts, Quarq power
IG: @boelsdolmansct
CANYON//SRAM Racing (GER)
- Alena Amialiusik (BLR)
- Hannah Barnes (GBR)
- Tiffany Cromwell (AUS)
- Kasia Niewiadoma (POL)
- Jess Pratt (AUS)
- Omer Shapira (ISR)
Componentry: SRAM RED eTap AXS, Zipp wheels, Quarq power
IG: @wmncycling
Movistar Team (ESP):
- Katrine Aalerud (NOR)
- Aude Biannic (FRA)
- Barbara Guarischi (ITA)
- Sheyla Gutiérrez (ESP)
- Andrea Paula Patiño (COL)
- Gloria Rodríguez (ESP)
Componentry: SRAM RED eTap AXS, Zipp wheels, Quarq power
IG: @movistar_team
Trek-Segafredo Women (USA):
- Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA)
- Lizzie Deignan (GBR)
- Lauretta Hanson (AUS)
- Anna Plichta (POL)
- Tayler Wiles (USA)
- Ruth Winder (USA)
Componentry: SRAM RED eTap AXS, Quarq power
IG: @treksegafredo
CCC-Liv Team (NED):
- Sofia Bertizzolo (ITA)
- Riejanne Markus (NED)
- Soraya Paladin (ITA)
- Pauliena Rooijakkers (NED)
- Sabrina Stultiens (NED)
- Marianne Vos (NED)
Componentry: SRAM RED eTap AXS, Quarq power
IG: @ccclivteam
Photo credits:
#1: ©Getty Images, #2,4,6: ©Velo Focus, #3: ©Jojo Harper, #5 ©Thomas Maheux
