La Route d'Occitanie - Elie Gesbert: "4 tough days to be expected"
The last French race before the national championships and the Tour de France, the Route d’Occitanie offers four days of rugged, steep profiles.
“It’s an intense week of racing that will end with the Route d’Occitanie. We’ll have four tough days. I’ve got my bearings there with a 6th place overall 2 years ago. This will be my 5th participation this year. The course suits me well. The battle for the final overall classification should be decided on the 3rd stage, as is often the case. But those who aren’t pure climbers or pure sprinters could try something on stages 2 and 4. We’ll have to be vigilant and opportunistic.”
“Like every year, the route in Occitania is difficult and the scenarios are unpredictable. The first stage should favour the sprinters, and we’ll be doing everything we can to put Nacer in the best possible position. On the traditional 3rd stage, with its summit finish, the general classification could be decided. For this objective, we’ll be able to count on Elie and Cristián. But this year we have the 2nd and 4th stages, which are very tricky, with passes emerging on their profiles each time. They may be ideal for the adventurous and the opportunistic, but they can also prove to be very tricky: we’ll have to be vigilant.”