Having been a key domestique for Pierre Rolland in the Giro d'Italia, Romain Sicard has got the chance to target the GC for himself in the Vuelta a Espana. His Europcar team plans to develop him into a future leader for the grand tours.

Today the Vuelta riders take on the first decisive stage in this Tour of Spain. The new team leader, Romain Sicard is at 54th in the general classification. With the mountains ahead, he may well clamber up some places.

Choosing a new leader is not an easy thing to do. Pierre Rolland fulfilled the role to perfection in the first two major tours of the year, with a 4th place in the Giro and 11th in the Tour de France.

On the Vuelta, it’sRomain Sicard’s turn to fly the flag high for the Greens. He is a choice that underlines Team Europcar’s long term strategy:

“It was our wish that Romain Sicard take part in the Tour of Spain,” reveals Andy Flickinger. “We want him to gain experience as a leader, to build his form at the top level.”

The Basque in the team has been here before:

“He had an excellent Giro and is on the way back to his best form: as a young rider he won the Tour de l’Avenir (Tour of the Future) and was the Under 23 world champion. The team is convinced that Romain has a brilliant future in cycling as a leader and climber in the big tours. We have every confidence in him and he delivers, giving himself every opportunity to succeed alongside the elite. On this Vuelta there’s no pressure: the aim is for him to rediscover himself, to build his own confidence for the years to come.”

The stakes are high for the sports director on this Vuelta:

“Romain Sicard is part of Team Europcar’s investment for the future. We already have one proven leader, Thomas Voeckler. Nowadays he’s more of a road captain, a “motivational” leader. There’s Pierre Rolland too, who has already finished in the top 10 in the Tour de France, who was 4th in the last Giro, and who has shown his strength as a leader. In a team nowadays I think you need several leaders. There are three major tours in the year and plenty of other stage races. I think that Romain has both the mental and physical potential to become at least a co-leader in Team Europcar.”

The demands of the World Tour schedule clearly open the way for new riders to make their mark. Well supported by experienced riders, Romain Sicard has the right cards in his hand to prove himself on this Tour of Spain:

“With no pressure, he’s going to be learning this new leader role. Within a team you have to take on the role, understand it, analyse it. You have to fight for your team mates who have already done their work. It’s not easy to take on board, but he has three weeks to try to understand how it works. Whether or not it pays off this time, we have to give ourselves the tools to make it next time. Given his attributes, he will certainly be playing a leading role in races like this in the future. The aim is to achieve a top 20 in the general classification, to get stuck in, and why not aim for a stage victory if the time gaps allow it,” reveals Andy Flickinger. 

The team’s sports director summarises his leader’s attributes:

“He’s a very technical rider on the bike. He climbs well, he’s fast in the time trial. Now his main job is to rebuild the confidence that enabled him to achieve some great successes. He’s a rider with the attributes to make a mark on a big tour. Romain has endurance and tenacity: he can fight and push himself right to the limit. He’s lucky to have great physical ability, to be very strong in the mountains, which is what makes the difference in today’s big tours.”