Jurgen Van Den Broeck is readying himself for the second grand tour of his season but when he lines up at the start of the Vuelta, he will have a vastly different role than he had at the Tour de France. Uncertain about his condition, he will ride in support of Maxime Monfort while also targeting a stage win.
Jurgen Van den Broek will be attending his first racing kilometers in team time trial on upcoming Sunday since the Tour de France. Van den Broeck took some rest after the tour followed by training in Mallorca.
“Four weeks between the Tour and the Vuelta isn’t long," he said. "After the Tour, I left my bike in the garage for ten days, in order to recover. The following blood tests showed that all my values are descent again. After the tests I headed to Mallorca to train in good conditions. I can hardly speak of a true preparation, but of course I took good care of myself. Over the years I sometimes let things go after the Tour, but this year that wasn’t the case.
“My role in the team will be different compared to the one I had in the Tour. I didn’t race since the Tour so I don’t know in which shape I will be. Presumably I will have to gain strength during the Vuelta.
"Maxime Monfort is our team captain. If my legs are good I will definitely do whatever I can to stand by his side. But on the other hand my shape could go up and down, I’ll find out about that really quick in Spain.
“A stage race suits better than a one day race anyway. So the choice between autumn races and the Tour of Spain was pretty obvious. I will certainly give it my best shot, I don’t feel comfortable by just riding in the middle of the peloton. But like I said, it will be hard to predict my shape.”
30.03: The Bueng Si Fai |
30.03: Gran Premio Miguel Indurain |
30.03: Volta Limburg Classic |
31.03: Ronde van Vlaanderen |
31.03: Ronde van Vlaanderen |
29.03 - 01.04: Ster van Zuid Limburg |
01.04: Gran Premio del Perdono |
01.04: Ronde de Mouscron |
01.04: Giro del Belvedere |
02.04: G.P. Palio del Recioto |
Matthew MELVILLE 45 years | today |
Bérengère STAELENS 39 years | today |
Stian SLEMDAL 34 years | today |
Sven DE WEERDT 46 years | today |
Matias FITZWATER 26 years | today |
© CyclingQuotes.com