Having enjoyed a one week lay-off for the first time in several months, Jürgen Van den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol) made a round-up of his season so far and talked to the media about his plans for the further build-up to the Tour de France, which starts Saturday 29th of June on the French island Corsica, before leaving for the Sierra Nevada for a new training camp.

“I’m not satisfied with the first part of my season, I am [satisfied] with my condition, but not with the results. In the Volta a Catalunya it was my own fault, in the Vuelta al País Vasco I lost all chances after a crash and in the Tour de Romandie I wasn’t good enough on day one. Maybe it was the wrong choice that the training camp ended so close to the prologue in the Tour de Romandie. But still, I could save my GC afterwards. My time trial on Sunday went surprisingly well; I was amazed that I left some specialists behind me in the classification. If I’m in good condition and take the right position [on the bike], I can set good times.”

In the meantime the Tour is getting closer. A few weeks ago Van den Broeck and Lotto-Belisol Sports Director Herman Frison went to Corsica to do a recon of the first three stages. VDB will also go to the Alps and Pyrenees as the start of the Tour draws nearer. On the press conference he talked about his further preparation and his ambitions for the Tour de France.

“Now I’m going to the Sierra Nevada again, for three weeks, then I’ll do a recon of the stages in the Alps and another time I’ll go to the Pyrenees. In June I’ll ride the Dauphiné and then I’m leaving again for the Sierra Nevada, two days before the national championship I’ll return to Belgium. While I’m in the Sierra Nevada I’ll follow the Giro. Bradley Wiggins plans to ride Giro and Tour. Aiming for two Grand Tours isn’t easy, especially if they are so close on the WorldTour itinerary. Maybe in the Tour somebody wants to take revenge. I won’t talk about the choice between Wiggins or Chris Froome as leader [of team Sky, we’ll see how it all goes in July. In Romandie, of course, I noticed that Froome is good.”

“I have already come fourth in the Tour twice, so right next to the podium. This means the top three is possible. But every Tour is different and hard to predict, you can come seventh or third with the same condition. You can only train hard, get to the start fine and then give full gas and see where you finish. The last time trial seems to be a tough one, but you can also win or lose the Tour in the mountains. In three weeks’ time I’ll do a recon of the time trials. Anyhow, you can’t plan the Tour beforehand.”