With three straight Grand Tour top tens in his last three Grand Tours, Leopold Konig says that run will come to an end as he works for Chris Froome during his second Tour de France.
Konig is in his first year with Sky and after Richie Porte left the Giro d’Italia early, Konig stepped up in his absence to finish sixth overall, his best Grand Tour finish.
“It [the double] was always on my program," he said at the team presentation for the Tour on Friday. "You never know in such a strong team like Team Sky. There’s so many riders in form. You never know if you’re going to make the list. I’m really happy that this can be like a next step in my career to do the double Giro-Tour. Personally, I’m really curious how I’m going to handle it.”
Konig says that if Froome falters, he wont step up to replace him in the GC like he did in the Giro, but he and the other climbers would go stage hunting.
“I think the goal is really clear, just like for Richie Porte," he said. "There’s almost no plan B. If something’s going to happen then we have a lot of opportunities in the stages but as a plan B for GC I don’t think it’s on the list. My role will be similar to Richie's role: helping in the really high mountains and the really tough stages. That’s going to be my biggest task in the race.”
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