2023-05-05 15:00:29
The Luxembourg climber from the Arkéa-Samsic team will start his first Giro on Saturday. It is expected in the last week…
To say that Michel Ries (25) is looking forward to being in the high mountains, more particularly in the Dolomites in the third week of the Giro, is an understatement. The Luxembourg climber remembers having appreciated the fervor conveyed around Italian cycling, like what he had experienced in 2018 when, enrolled in the Polartec-Kometa team, he was ranked 9e of the Baby Giro, the cousin of the Tour de l’Avenir.
We cannot predict how the Luxembourg climber will go through his three weeks of racing precisely. But we can nevertheless think that he will find on the terrain of the Dolomites an ideal area to show his know-how and take a step forward in his career.
In what state of mind do you approach this first Giro?
Michel Ries: I think it’s probably the grand tour that suits me best. For me, that was the big goal of this season. I am very happy to be there.
Your team has communicated on the role you will play with Warren Barguil…
Yes, it will be my role to accompany him in the high mountains, so that he can aim for stages.
This is only your second big tour, since since your move to the pros in 2020, you have only participated in the Vuelta that year. What experience did you get from it?
It was special, because in 2020, it was the year of covid and I remember that we had contested this Vuelta very late (the race, reduced to 18 stages, had been moved at the very end of the season and had exceptionally concluded on November 8). It was my first season with the pros. I had no specific preparation and the approach was different. But it’s good to know what it means to compete in a grand tour, the three weeks of racing, the effects on the body. The Vuelta 2020 is quite far, but it will serve me.
What is your current fitness level?
I feel good and the preparation for this Giro went as planned at the start of the year. I didn’t experience any major problems and I approach this Tour of Italy with the feeling that we have given ourselves all the means to do well. Afterwards, it is to be confirmed during the race. But I’m quite optimistic.
If we listen to the experienced riders, we understand that it is a second part of the Giro which is among the toughest in recent years.
Apart from your role as a teammate, do you think you will get freedoms at some point in the race?
Yes, I think it will be possible, it can be a personal goal. But it’s hard when you go into a three-week race to predict how things are going to go, how you’re going to feel, how the race is going to go. But in the second and especially in the third week, there will be stages where I want to show myself in front. It’s not like we have a leader to protect who is aiming for the general classification during the three weeks of racing. There will undoubtedly be freedoms for everyone.
The route is quite clear, the high mountains, in abundance, are in the last week…
Yes, the start of the Giro d’Italia looks relaxed compared to what awaits us at the end. The second part is very hard. If we listen to the experienced riders, we understand that it is a second part of the Giro which is among the toughest of recent years. The stages are long, 200 kilometers with sometimes 5,000 vertical meters. It will be necessary to know how to keep cartridges to manage that!
Did you recognize any steps?
No, it was difficult to organize with the calendar. We are not going to take the most famous routes of the Giro either. We are not going to climb the Mortirolo or the Stelvio. But with the means we have, we can watch almost the entire route as if we were on reconnaissance. We know what awaits us.
What image do you have of the Giro?
I did the Baby Giro with the hopefuls and I have very good memories of it. It was very special. Italy is a real cycling country, people are enthusiastic. We go to the city centers where there are a lot of people. Compared to other races like in Spain, for example, where sometimes there is no one at the start. I imagine that the real Giro d’Italia will be even better than what I had experienced. It gives motivation to run in such an atmosphere, that’s for sure.
#cartridges #explains #Michel #Ries