Dumoulin: Special Starting Le Tour In The Netherlands

04 July 2015 11:37

Tom Dumoulin has said that it is special to start the 102nd Tour De France in The Netherlands.

The Dutch rider for Giant Alpecin, is one of the favourites for the opening stage today in Utrecht and said to his team's press office: “It is very special to start the Tour de France in my home country and I hope for a lot of support along the roads, the presentation was already a great event yesterday.

"Wednesday I did some last intensive training and today we went out on the time trial bike around Utrecht. Tomorrow morning I will do a last recon of the course as part of the final preparations for the prologue. I am getting more and more excited and I am really looking forward to it.

“I prefer not to consider myself as the one and only favorite, because that is simply not the case. Of course, the yellow jersey is interesting. But I don’t think about it all day and force myself to win. I can also be satisfied with second or third."

Koen De Kort said: This year I went to Sierra Nevada for altitude training for the first time. This is usually what climbers do, but it turned out to be very helpful for sprinters as well.

"The team worked hard trying to find specific points where we can improve, and I’m happy I got the opportunity to try it. I actually feel better than I ever have at the start of the Tour, and it’s exciting to start in my home country. I’m looking forward to a great opportunity for us.”

Whilst a third Dutchman Marc Reef said: “We are ready and we can't wait to get started. In everything that happens here in Utrecht you notice that something big is about to happen. It is really nice to see all the events that are organized in the city, which is totally in style for the Grand Départ.

"We get a lot of attention from both press and fans and we expect a lot of people in Utrecht, which motivates and inspires us a lot.

"At the upcoming opening weekend we will immediately have some goals towards which we have been working all season, and we will look to accomplish them with a lot of confidence.”

Source: DSG