JOAO ALMEIDA, Le Costaud
The Portuguese Joao Almeida won on the Tour of Switzerland. A victory that decided in the last stage, a time trial during which he caught up on Kevin Vauquelin.
The form displayed in recent weeks by the Portuguese is simply astounding with victories on the Tour of the Basque Country, the Tour de Romandie and now the Tour of Switzerland. Which makes Stéphane Thirion say: “I think that Almeida, compared to Pogacar and Vingegaard, there will be a match. »»
Not equal to budgets
One of subjects that is invited in the discussions of bicycle fans in recent days is the difference in budget that there can be between certain teams.
A point raised by Kevin Vauquelin at the end of the Tour of Switzerland. The Frenchman explained that for lack of budget, his team had to do without a cook for this event.
For Frédéric Amorison, “it can make you smile, but it’s super important. Runners need to have good dietetic meals. When you have less budget, it is affected on the cook, on altitude courses that are shorter, lots of little things that make a difference. The gap may increase over the years. »»
Technological innovation
On the Tour of Switzerland, the bikes of the runners were equipped, for the first time, with GPS tracers. An innovation praised by Frédéric Amorison: “We remember this young Swiss runner who died during the last world championships. She had disappeared and it took time before finding her. Here, the organizers have invested in tracers which allow, when the cyclist stops more than 30 seconds, to have an alarm system which will trigger to see its precise location to find it. »»
“It’s something that costs terribly expensive. Not all organizers cannot afford to set up such a device, ”adds our consultant. The UCI did not actually participate for this purchase, it is fully dependent on the organizers of the races.
In terms of security, if the UCI is thinking of setting limits in place in particular on the size of the handlebars and bracquets, but for Stéphane Thirion some of the responsibility goes to the runners (or at least to their teams). “They spend a lot of time on internship, it’s very good, but they lose their bearings in the race. We have seen runners who pilot like suicide bomber. »»
An opinion that Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault share. Our Céline Vandenbrouck consultant met them a few days ago and had this discussion with them. “They said there are too many courses and that young people can no longer drive. They both said exactly the same thing. »»
An exclusivity
On the set, Céline Vandenbrouck, who works for the Ekoi helmet brand, brought a prototype of the helmet that the runners will wear during the Tour de France. “It is a helmet that will combine three major functions: it is aero, it is light and it is airy, because it is really hot on the Tour de France. »»
“Normally, it’s a revolution,” she continues. “We did the test with all the competitors and it’s exceptional. The particularity is the combo with airwater glasses. There is no longer any space between the helmet and the glasses, it makes the spirit of an aero helmet. »»
Belgian Championship
The Belgian championships on the road race will be held on June 29 in Binche. An unmissable event for all the Cadors that are Remco Evenepoel, Wout Van Aert, Tim Merlier or Jasper Philipsen to name a few. Without forgetting Arnaud de Lie, the title holder who will have a lot to do to keep his tunic.
In addition, this program in the peloton was an opportunity to know a little more about the course. The director of the race, Ludwic de Winter, presents us the three key points including passages which are not part of Binche-Chimay-Binche.
On this “using” course, Stéphane Thirion Pointe Remco Evenepoel in a big favorite, just in front of Wout Van Aert and Arnaud de Lie. For Frédéric Amorison, it is Wout Van Aert who is favorite n ° 1 ahead of Remco Evenepoel and… Jenno Berckmoes. “He is a punker, but also sprinter. He is someone who has a double cap in this regard and who can be the real leader in the Lotto training and he will have a nice card to play. »»
