Mathieu van der Poel is put forward as the contender for the first pink jersey on Friday evening, but the Dutchman is not really optimistic after a first inspection round.
“It will not be easy,” said Van der Poel. “There’s a lot of competition and it sounds easy, but it’s not.”
“The finish is quite difficult, but it will not be obvious to release the fast men there.” Stage 1 ends with a nod of 5 kilometers at 5 percent.
Van der Poel will ride the Giro and the Tour this year. Will this first part be preparation for the yellow work in July? “No, not really.”
“I have my goals in the Giro and I look forward to that. I have always found this to be one of the best races of the year and it will be a nice experience here.”
Of course Van der Poel dreams of the maglia rosa, but last year’s maillot jaune was still one step higher. “That pink dream is smaller than the yellow one, yes. But I’ll try.”
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Although there are doubts, Van der Poel emphasized once again that he wants to finish this Giro.
“Yes, I want to ride the Giro and the Tour completely, although I also have to wait and see how my body reacts. There are question marks and the cols of the final week are unknown territory.”
Should he win the pink jersey on Friday, he will defend his leading position on Saturday in a short time trial.
“I did one training at home last weekend to get that feeling again. Last year it went very well in the Tour and I didn’t change much about my position. But I haven’t focused on it now.”
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