Chris Froome: “The strongest Team Sky we’ve ever had at La Vuelta”
Speaking to reporters at the pre-race press conference in Nîmes’ arenas ahead of the 72nd edition of La Vuelta, Chris Froome declared: “I wouldn’t say it’s an obsession to win La Vuelta but it’s a race I really enjoy doing every year. It’s obviously difficult after the Tour de France to get back to that same kind of condition, one month after, but I really enjoy that challenge. This year in particular, I’ve had opportunity to focus on being ready for this year’s La Vuelta. I haven’t had the Olympics like last year. There are a lot of very strong riders here. It’s about 21 days of racing. Nine summit finishes mean it’s at least really tough stages we have to look out for. Having said that, the time trial is one stage I’m really looking forward to. A lot of time can be lost or won on 40km. Stage 20 of Angliru is a massive stage. It’s gonna be a race between the pure climbers and the guys who can time trial. My team is probably the strongest team we’ve ever put on the start line of La Vuelta. It’s great we’ve been able to that especially after having such a strong squad at the Tour de France. It’s an all round well balanced and strong team. There’s a feeling of purpose in the team more than previously.”
Romain Bardet: “I hope to maintain July’s form”
Romain Bardet had a short trip from to make his way to Nîmes. He declared himself “impatient” to get back to racing one month after finishing third of the Tour de France. “I’ve been training well in the past ten days”, he said. “I’m in a good condition for La Vuelta. I want to fight for the victory on different stages. We’ve counted more than a dozen hard stages. I’ll try to win some beautiful ones. The favorites are Froome, Nibali, Contador, Aru… Orica also comes with a strong line-up. We’ll see if things pay off for those who missed the Tour to prepare La Vuelta. I hope to maintain July’s form. It’s a new challenge to race two Grand Tours. It’s important for me and I feel ready.”
Fabio Aru: “I like La Vuelta, I want to honor the race”
The 2015 winner of La Vuelta looked enthusiastic as he answered questions in the arenas. “I’m not sure what to expect at La Vuelta because I’ve an eventful season so far with an injury before the Giro”, the Italian noted. “I had prepared for the Giro, then I prepared for the Tour and now I’m at La Vuelta. It makes it a very long season and I don’t even know myself how my physique will cope. However I wanted to be here to honor this race I like so much. I’ll look day by day for the best feelings. It’s a very open race. There are nine uphill finishes as usual at La Vuelta. It’s going to be hard from Monday’s stage to Andorra onwards. But the opening team time trial will be a decisive one as well.”
Esteban Chaves: “We have a secret”
Third last year, Esteban Chaves returned to France with a big smile on his face after a disappointing debut at the Tour. “I’m really excited like always”, he announced. “La Vuelta is a big Tour. It makes me nervous. It’s normal. I’m very happy. I love this race. I hope this edition will be no exception. We’ll work very hard. We have a very good team here. It’s tricky to try and recover from the Tour and maintain a good level of performance at the same time. I’ve done my best to arrive here as fresh as possible. How we’ll work out the leadership between the Yates brothers and myself is our secret and you’ll find out along the way.”
La Vuelta already prepares 2018
The historic start of the 72nd edition of La Vuelta from Nîmes is also the opportunity to display new ambitions for 2018. Saturday at 12:30, the general director of the event Javier Guillén will reveal the city where La Vuelta will begin next year. He will speak from the terrace of the musée de la Romanité, where the race headquarters and the journalists are set this week.
The rest of the schedule
The #RodamosJuntos campaign will be presented at 10 AM in the press room of the musée de la Romanité. The project led by Movistar aims for better behaviours when it comes to sharing the roads between cyclists and motorised vehicles. Movistar team manager Eusebio Unzué will speak to the press with Rafael Fernandez de Alarcon (director of partnerships for Téléfonica), José Luis López Cerrón (president of the Spanish cycling federation), Javier Guillén (general director of La Vuelta) and former rider Pedro Delgado (winner of La Vuelta in 1985 and 1989).
At 11:30 AM, Javier Guillén will join Jean-Paul Fournier, senator-mayor of Nîmes, for the inauguration of the “Village startup du monde du vélo” on the Parque Vuelta faire. About 20 startups gathered by the association garDigital will present innovative projects about bikes and the future of cycling.
