tuesday 18 October 2011 at 21h04
As you know, the official presentation of the Tour de France 2012 took place this morning and early this afternoon. This was the occasion to discover the final details in addition to what had already been published here, but also the occasion for some riders who have played an important role in the Tour de France 2011 to comment de race course.
With Jérémy Roy we thought it was a long time ago already that there haven't been any interviews in his section at velowire.com and it was thus also the occasion to ask him to comment this race course which has now been officially presented, but also to briefly come back to the end of his season ...
You can discover all that in the video interview below.
First of all, you'll find the video of the interview early this afternoon at the Palais des Congrès in Paris but if you're not able to see it or if you don't understand French, you can also read the transcription of this interview just underneath!
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The video with the interview with Jérémy Roy
Interview Jérémy Roy after the official presentation of the Tour de France 2012
Hello Jérémy, we're here at the presentation of the Tour. Before we talk about the Tour de France, let's briefly get back to the end of this season. You just did the Chrono des Nations, what are the other races you did recently?Before the Chrono des Nations I was at Paris-Bourges, I also did the Duo Normand with Anthony Roux. I wish him a speedy recovery by the way, I just seize the occasion. He's doing well, he's getting better, he arrived back home. That's good news and his recovery will be a little bit shorter than expected.
At the end of this season I also did the Tour de Vendée. I especially helped the team, it's true I haven't been attacking like I did in the Tour de France because I needed quite a lot of rest, so I was there to help the rest of the team and not to be part of long breakaways.
In July we saw you a lot leading the race, I think the French public (re)discovered you thanks to this (Let's say discovered!). Do you think this has changed something in your popularity in the other races you did after the Tour?
How do you explain the fact that you could do that this year and maybe much less or not at all in the previous years?
We didn't have a sprinter in the team so that leaves some space for personal ambitions and being in the breakaways. When you have a sprinter and the game is on him, I know I cannot go in a breakaway and that I have to work for him. That's one side of the story and the other side is that I was in a very good shape in July ... it's not easy to guarantee that every year. This year it was the case, maybe the birth of my daughter liberated me and gave me wings, it has multiplied my forces!
She was born just before the Tour, right?
Yes, she was born one and a halve week beofre the Tour de France.
And when you're away for a race, don't you miss her a lot?
Yes, of course I'm not the only rider in this case but for the Tour it was indeed quite particular to leave my wife and my baby that quickly after her birth. Maybe that's the reason why I wanted to get back to the hotel as quick as possible to be able to call my wife! (Jérémy seems to forget that if one of his breakaways would have went on to the finish, he would have lost much more time with the official ceremony ... ;-).
We were at the presentation of the Tour de France 2012 today, we didn't discover much new things because we already knew almost all of it. Could you comment it anyway: what do you think of this Tour which is said to be less difficult but contains some stages which seem to be quite hard anyway?
Of course, like any Tour de France by the way, it's three weeks, that already is quite an effort ... like any stage race. Indeed, the profile is said to be less difficult but I think it's extremely difficult anyway. There will be quite a lot of interesting stages, high mountains, middle mountains for riders like me who have the energy to break away alone, plain stages and what's new maybe .. well, new or coming back, are the two long time trials in the Tour de France this year.
Concerning the stages in the intermediate mountain chains, do you think these are the stages which might suit you, even if it's still far away?
Yes, they'll fit me better than a high mountain stage, that's for sure ... most often on these kind of profiles, a long lasting breakaway has a good chance to go on till the finish, so I hope I'll be in one of those at least once next year!
We're now at the end of the season, can you explain us what happens now for you as a rider? You let everything go and do nothing for a while, you'll train a bit anyway? What's your programme?
This year, with the Tour de France effect, people ask me for a lot of things during this inter-season. I just finished in Les Herbiers, I won't touch my bike a lot even though I'll still participate in a Gentleman, a mountainbike ride with some adolescents in my région, a mountainbike ride with a school. I try to answer positively to those requests, and I'll also do some cyclo cross races this winter, but apart from that I'll get some real rest for 3 to 4 weeks and pick up the training on the road after that, together with the physical preparation and most importantly some muscle training.
Thanks Jérémy! door Thomas Vergouwen
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1 comment | 3263 views
this publication is published in: Catching up with Jérémy Roy | Tour de France 2012
by JP over
Un coureur attractif qui a rythmé le Tour de France cet été. Je l'ai beaucoup apprécié. Dommage qu'il n'a pas décroché une victoire d'étape.