There are solely three phases left within the 2024 Tour de France, and of the 5 riders at present mendacity highest on GC, veteran Soudal-QuickStep racer Mikel Landa is maybe the one which surprises essentially the most.
Whereas the Basque star, fifth general at 13:24 behind chief Tadej Pogačar (UAE Crew Emirates), confirmed on Thursday that he’s doing a lot better than he anticipated, he additionally insisted, maybe surprisingly, that his 2024 Tour type is not so good as it has been in earlier July editions.
“I’m doing nicely, I’m having fun with it, and I’m nicely up there,” he advised a small group of reporters earlier than stage 18. “However I got here right here with the thought of simply serving to Remco. Nonetheless, little by little I obtained up there within the GC and my present putting is healthier now than I anticipated.”
Fourth within the 2017 Tour de France, he got here inside a whisker of constructing the rostrum however was pipped to the submit within the remaining time trial by Romain Bardet. Landa insisted that regardless of at present being in such hallowed firm as Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) within the prime 5 at present, to not point out his personal teammate Evenepoel in third, “this isn’t actually my finest Tour. I got here to different Excursions in higher form”.
“2017 was good, however so have been 2018 and 2019, too for those who don’t decide all of it on the outcomes. Again then I used to be extra bold, I used to be extra within the struggle for the race, I attacked extra too,” he defined.
“This 12 months,” he added a shade ruefully, “all I’m doing is chasing down the others.”
Landa was happy, all the identical, given the present record-breaking common velocity of the Tour, and the rather more aggressive type of Grand Tour racing usually, which has brought about lots of his contemporaries to quietly shelve the thought of preventing for the general. And for all he’s now 34, Landa nonetheless stays within the GC fray, whereas nonetheless holding down a key group function as Remco’s key lieutenant for the climbing phases.
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“That’s true, the years go by and I’m nonetheless up there,” Landa recognised, “near the highest names.”
As for the way he views Soudal-QuickStep’s technique for the previous few days of the Tour, with two huge mountain phases and a really powerful remaining time trial nonetheless to return.
“So much will rely on how UAE Crew Emirates and Visma choose to play the race, and we’ll must react to that,” he mentioned. “Now we have to remain shut, be watchful and if Vingegaard has a foul day or makes a mistake, attempt to take advantage of it to place Remco up a step on the rostrum.”
Stage 19 features a uncommon ascent to 2,800 metres above sea degree on the summit of the Bonette-Restefond, a top solely often reached by the Tour and the ‘ceiling’ of this 12 months’s race.
“We do a variety of altitude coaching today so a lot of the riders are pretty used to these sorts of heights. However for positive that’ll do some harm, too, similar to after we went over the Galibier on stage 4,” Landa recognised, noting one other Alpine monster climb which peaked out at 2,642 metres above sea degree within the first week.
Precedence with Evenepoel
Landa’s wonderful place general may current Soudal-QuickStep with one thing of a GC dilemma concerning whether or not they’ll defend his place within the dying days of the Tour in addition to focussing on Evenepoel. However the Basque says that whereas his fifth place is a valued asset for the Belgian squad, Evenepoel’s podium battle logically takes priority.
“My precedence is to assist Remco, and check out to make sure he finishes as excessive as doable on the rostrum. However I’m fascinated with that fourth place too, and I’ll attempt to end as shut as I can to it in Good.
“Quite than the climbs, the important thing day for Remco may nicely be the [stage 21] time trial. Nonetheless, he may get a while again then, too, so the nearer he’s to Vingegaard beforehand, the higher.”
Landa has been and nonetheless is a vastly necessary a part of the Soudal-QuickStep line-up on this 12 months’s Tour, notably within the two powerful climbing phases to return. However such is Evenepoel’s quickness to study that Landa says one other function he previously had, that of giving Remco recommendation on Grand Tour technique, is changing into more and more irrelevant.
“The race itself is educating him about how one can deal with his energy and calculate what to do,” Landa mentioned. “I feel the race is educating him greater than I may do.”
Landa’s personal unfettered GC choices, in any case, will come within the Vuelta a España – which Evenepoel will not be racing – and unsurprisingly given his wonderful Tour de France to this point, Landa is more and more optimistic.
“I feel it’ll be race for me,” he mentioned. “From what I can see right here within the Tour, I’m going to get there in fine condition.”
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