The Movistar pair of Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde have given their reactions to the route of the 2016 Tour de France which was announced in Paris yesterday.
Nairo Quintana: “It’s a good parcours for us. I think the mountains really suit us, plenty on them on the course with some finishes I know and shone in in the past, like Mont Ventoux or Morzine. Also, from what I could see, the long ITT isn’t completely flat, so it shouldn’t be bad for us.
“Even though we saw last year that the pavé wasn’t a big disadvantage for us last year, not having it in 2016, combined with an ‘easier’ first week, will keep us under full focus, just like in every Tour start, but we’ll tackle it with more confidence.
“What I really miss on this year’s route is the TTT. It really favoured us on previous editions, as we could fight for the stage win and take a bit of a gap over our rivals. It’s a shame we won’t ride it this time.
“More than the Tour, this route reminds me of the Vuelta a España or even the Giro, with hard stages all over the three weeks of racing, but our form approach must remain the same: starting off in good condition and keeping or improving it over the course of the race.
“We have to take care about ourselves the best we can – overtraining and losing that bit of fitness at the end of the race would be a big mistake. Pressure? It won’t be different to previous occasions: I always took on leading duties well during this years, in the 2014 Giro, the 2015 Tour… it won’t be a problem.
“Fortunately, Alejandro got the Tour podium he really fought for, and having him out of that same pressure will be a boost for me and the whole team.”
Alejandro Valverde: “I think it’s a more open route than last year’s, and undoubtedly beautiful and interesting. Stages seem to be longer – seven or eight of them above 200 kilometres, which should make efforts harder at the end of the race, and mountains are distributed differently.
“The first part of the race will be as nervous as usual, though it will be a little bit less stressful as we don’t have any cobblestones to tackle, and wind shouldn’t be a huge problem except for stages one and two. The Pyrenees and Andorra climbs will bring some suffering before the first rest day, and together with the Mont Ventoux, I think they might set things really straight early into the race.
“However, with those two demanding TTs and the restless final week, it can really suit us the whole team and Nairo well. How I will face this Tour? Maybe not as focused as in previous seasons – though I haven’t still spoken thoroughly about it with neither Eusebio nor Nairo, the plan is having him taking over the team leadership.
“It might be different for me, maybe more focused on the Olympics. Still, I don’t know if I’ll ride the Vuelta a España, the Giro d’Italia, how my calendar will be… we must wait and decide it with the team in the upcoming weeks before defining our 2016 schedule.”
