Didier Rous: "to be in the right place at the right time to be able to finish"

NewsJun 25, 2024

World Team TeamTour de France

The sprint card will be one of the major assets of the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team in the Tour de France, but all the riders will be able to try their luck on the stages that suit them best. Kévin Vauquelin and Raúl García Pierna, for their part, will be discovering the Tour and perfecting their apprenticeship as professional cyclists at the world's greatest cycling race, with precise objectives targeted at the stages that suit their characteristics.

Team managers Yvon Ledanois and Sébastien Hinault review the 8 riders selected below.

Amaury Capiot

Amaury Capiot will have a perfectly defined role in Arnaud Démare's train when our sprinter is our number 1 card," says Sébastien Hinault. "But he can just as easily slip into a breakaway and control it, if it arrives in a small group and the pure sprinters don't get through. His sense of racing will be a valuable asset, and he can be our relay in the race.

Clément Champoussin

Clément Champoussin had a very good feeling on the first 'punchy' stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné, after completing a training camp at altitude in Sierra Nevada. Over the course of these two days, he showed just how good he really is. After the Dauphiné, Clément went to Tignes for a high altitude refresher course," says Sébastien Hinault. "We're counting on him to be in the same frame of mind throughout the Tour de France as he was in the early days of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Arnaud Démare

Arnaud Démare was back in fine form on the roads of the Tour of Switzerland, where the route was not conducive to sprinters. Arnaud put in the effort he needed on this very high-level event to arrive in good shape at the start of the Tour de France. He felt good and confident," emphasises Yvon Ledanois. "The aim is for him to win at least one stage in the Tour de France, and at the same time score his 96th career victory. Arnaud will have a solid train at his side as he goes in search of his third stage in the Grande Boucle with the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS jersey on his shoulders.

Raúl García Pierna

Raúl García Pierna is a rider with plenty of room for improvement. A solid rouleur, he has already been crowned Spanish time trial champion, and the young rider from Madrid has some fine references in this field. Raúl is also a rider who can quickly become an all-rounder, and his profile fits that of a stage racer. His first participation in the Tour de France at the age of 23 could give him the chance to discover himself and to be discovered by as many people as possible", concludes Yvon Ledanois.

Daniel McLay

Dan McLay will be racing in his fourth Tour de France. This year, he'll be the key man in Arnaud Démare's train, as he'll be his pilot during the mass finishes. Dan excels in this role, and has already worked for Arnaud Démare. The two men have been working together since last year, and their relationship has already led to victories," recalls Sébastien Hinault.

Luca Mozzato

Confirmation of the year in the northern classics, Luca Mozzato is an "all-season" rider," insists Sébastien Hinault. "In fact, he's a stage race and Grand Tour rider. Luca will be starting his 3rd Tour de France from Florence on Saturday, which will no doubt increase his desire and ambition tenfold with this Grand Depart from Italy. Luca will be a key member of the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team in the sprint finishes for Arnaud Démare. He will also be able to benefit from a free hand on certain stages, which can be decided by a sprint in a small group that has ruled out the pure sprinters.

Cristián Rodríguez

Cristián Rodríguez will be taking part in the second Tour de France of his career. But he has a great deal of experience in the Grand Tours, as this will be his 7th. Cristián," says Yvon Ledanois, "is a climber. He knows how to hurt himself on the climbs, and how to resist in order to stay in contact with the best riders for as long as possible. His resilience is his strength. And let's not forget that last year he finished 13th overall in the Vuelta, an event that brought together many of the world's top professional cyclists.

Kévin Vauquelin

Kévin Vauquelin is about to take part in his first Tour de France," says Yvon Ledanois. "We've set him targets, given his status in the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team, on certain stages that we've targeted with him. Kévin is going to experience this Tour de France day by day, and it will be a discovery for him. Let's put it this way: in three weeks he'll go from "high school to university", having completed the stages we've set him. The fact that this year's Tour also finishes in Nice will be an advantage for him, because as with Clément Champoussin, the roads they will be using will be those on which they train for most of the year.

Emmanuel Hubert

General Manager

The Tour de France 2024 will set off from Florence in Italy. This meeting with the tifosi promises to be a big one, as we know that cycling is elevated to the status of a religion on the other side of the Alps. The aim for the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team will be to make a difference every day in this Tour, and for our riders to be on the attack with the aim of winning a stage. We'll have to move forward as a team, so that we can capitalise on our common interest to achieve the performances we want to achieve. We have a squad built around this ambition. Making the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS Excalibur jersey shine is what motivates us, both on the stages for adventurous riders, by getting into the breakaways, and on the mass finishes, by playing our chances to the full. Two riders will be making their Tour de France debut in our squad: Raúl García Pierna and Kévin Vauquelin, two riders who share the same characteristics, and whose progress we'll be keeping an eye on as the stages go by, with objectives set for both of them.

Didier Rous

Sports Manager

Our aim will be to win a stage in this edition of the Tour de France. There will be opportunities for the sprinters, and Arnaud Démare will be our number 1 trump card in the mass finishes. A sprinter remains a sprinter and he'll become one again at the first opportunity he's given. We have total confidence in him. Arnaud will be able to rely on Amaury Capiot, Luca Mozzato and Dan McLay, who will be his wingman. Everyone will have a defined role and will have to fulfil it if the team is to succeed. Kévin Vauquelin will be discovering the Tour de France, and will also have carte blanche on certain targeted stages, as will Amaury Capiot and Luca Mozzato. None of our riders will be restricted to an exclusive role on this Tour when the stages best suit their characteristics. The general philosophy of the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team will be "to be in the right place at the right time to be able to finish". Kévin Vauquelin will have no obligations in terms of the general classification. This will be his first Tour, and he will be discovering and learning. The same goes for Raúl García Pierna. We'll take it day by day with them, but that doesn't mean we can't be ambitious and want to do well, especially on the time trial stages and those that suit their characteristics.

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