Back in the French team after a seventh place at the Worlds in Richmond, Tony Gallopin is now comfortable in the blue-white-red jersey. The Lotto Soudal rider is now one of the leaders in national coach Bernard Bourreau’s team and he was a natural member of the group that recently gathered at a training camp to prepare for the Worlds and the Olympics. The Olympic year will strongly resemble that of 2015 in terms of its planning but Gallopin does not want to miss the big event in Rio.

”The Olympics is a target for 2016,” he told Velopro.fr at the French training camo. “I have a lot of goals in one-day races. The Olympics is a part of them even if the course is very hard. It is an event where I want to be present. I will have to see what role I can have because personally I want to shine but it will be difficult and it would also please me to ride for Thibaut Pinot or Romain Bardet.”
 

The French team only has two spots for the road race. 

“Anyway, we will certainly not have to make the race so it does not change much for the race,” he said. “The problem is that it leaves an extra rider at home. The Games will be quite an experience. I had the chance to do them in London in 2012. It is only once every four years and it's very special. I wanted a little bit more at the Tour of Lombardy because we only missed fifteen points in getting a fifth rider. I tell myself that it's a shame because maybe I would be there with 5 riders but not with 4 riders. We will see.”
 

”Of course there are better climbers than me. But I don’t think the best solution is to have four pure climbers in Rio. I do not worry too much. There is a real trust with Bernard Bourreau. If I'm not in shape, I will tell him and if he does not count on me, he will tell me too.
 

”It's a really hard course. I do not even know if such a hard course has been used in the past. It's original and it’s a big difference as we are used to see courses for sprinters or puncheurs. Furthermore, the race will be less controlled than races with 8 riders per team. There will be a lot of teammates in the end, for sure.”
 

The Olympic dream has not prompted him to change his schedule.

“It will not change until the Tour, especially if you know you're targeting the Games. There will inevitably be some days when I will take fewer risks and when the recovery will be the focus. It's a bit like racing the Worlds. The plan is to be there in good condition.

“I think the Tour is the best preparation. But does that mean that doing the Tour thoroughly and going for GC is the right solution when you aim for an Olympic title? I do not know. Then it will be decided by details and the time difference will be a very important factor. The effect will be amplified since the Tour de France is always very tiring. For my part, I won the Clasica San Sebastian in the year when I was most tired after the Tour so I think it's something that works pretty well for me.”

In 2015, Gallopin failed to repeat his stage win and stint in yellow at the Tour de France but he showed new aspects of his talent as he hung onto a top 10 for along time.

“I think it was a successful year in the sense that I progressed and this was the main goal I have made in recent years,” he said. “The objective in terms of result remains the same. It is to win one of the five major monuments of cycling but that is the goal of a career. This season I got many top 10 results in one-day races and that is important too. In the coming years I will have to get into the top 5, then get onto the podium and finally try to get a win. 
 

“In addition to that, the Tour de France and Paris-Nice were good memories. My season has been steady.”
 

Gallopin only managed to finish in the top 10 in two stages races: Paris-Nice and Etoile de Besseges. 

“Unfortunately, that’s how it is,” he said. “I'm not someone who wins 5-10 races a year. I'm fast but there is always someone faster than me and if I finally manage to win a sprint, there are always two riders in a break. I am consistent, the team is happy and I am too. Surely I can win more races but to achieve success at this level is already very difficult.
 

“I have to be even stronger but when I see the top 10s that I have achieved, I am always up against Valverde, Sagan, Kwiatkowski… They are the best in the world and you have to be stronger than them. I get there from time to time but it is not easy.”

Gallopin also has his eyes on the rainbow jersey in the future.
 

“Indeed, even if it's harder than winning a big classic because there are fewer opportunities,” he said when asked about his Worlds ambitions. “The circuit of the World Championships is not for me every year. It is necessary that the shape is perfect, and many other factors come into play. It remains a goal every season.”
 

However, the flat course in Qatar is not one for Gallopin.

“It certainly doesn’t suit me at all but I will go there in a different role,” he said. “Ponferrada in 2014 was perfect for me, this year a little less. It's always a disappointment to be close to the podium but it's still a satisfaction that the legs can be there on the big day and to know that I can compete with the best in the world.”
 

Gallopin’s performance in the Tour has made people ask whether he will focus on the GC in the future.

“I always suffer when I climb well but I always do well in the mountains when I'm focused on certain goals,” he said. “I do not seek for excuses. I really cracked in the end. I do not regret anything. It was a great experience even if I could have gone for stage victories if I had dropped out of the top 10 to join a good break. Maybe it'll give me ideas for the future.
 

“A Grand Tour is complicated but it's true that this kind of thing could be for me, probably later when I am 30-32 years old, as a new challenge. The one-week races like Paris-Nice can suit me because it is not too hard and the conditions are so tough that some climbers may fall by the wayside before we get to the mountains. For now, this is not the priority. I am focused on one-day races. However, we also know that if things are evolving and if I win a monument next year, I may change my mind. I have no fixed goal. You should know that three years ago you could not talk to me about anything else than the Tour of Flanders and now I do no longer even do that race. I evolve every year.”
 

Gallopin spent the first part of his career in France but has now settled abroad. 

“I feel good, that's also why I extended my contract for three seasons last year,” he said about his Lotto Soudal team. “I never signed for such a long time. It is my fourth team, I experienced different structures and different mentalities. Here I have found stability. The team trusts me and gives me freedom. This is also why I decided to stay here.
 

“I am not against, [a return to France]. I felt really good at Cofidis and I could return to France. The nationality criterion is not really what I look at as my first priority. I mainly think of my opportunities and what I can bring to the team. I still have two years left of my contract.”