Nairo Quintana and Warren Barguil to lead Arkea Samsic in Tour de France
Jun 11 2020 04:38 am CET
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Nairo Quintana and Warren Barguil are set to share the leadership of Arkea-Samsic in the Tour de France.
The two climbers have been getting ready to restart their seasons after the calendar had to be stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With a bit of more clarity in the races that are to come, the team has already decided the road that the two riders will take to the Tour de France.
In the first races, Barguil and Quintana will start in different races with the first objective of taking as many points as possible for the formation to top the UCI Europe tour team's classification. "Warren Barguil will start on the Route d'Occitanie and Nairo in the Tour de l'Ain," said the team's General Manager Arkea-Samsic, Emmanuel Hubert.
"Our desire is to win the Europe Tour classification at the end of the season. Having our two leaders in different races multiply our chances of scoring points for this ranking -of which we are the current leaders- and which will open the doors of all World-Tour races in 2021, and it will give them the chance of building up."
After these races, both riders will meet in the Criterium du Dauphine. "The race will serve us and serve as their dress rehearsal for the Tour de France," explained Hubert. "The Criterium du Dauphine is a great event that always offers a race format that is an ideal preparation for the Tour.
"This year, of course, the race will be reduced in terms of number of race days, but it will remain interesting as an approach for the Tour that is a few weeks later. Nairo and Warren have already raced together this year, and they have already got to know each other in competition and the Dauphine will allow them to refine that even more."
For a French team like Arkea-Samsic, the Tour is the main objective of the year. "I have always said it and it is like this from the start of the season," the General Manager commented. "Nairo wants to be on the podium as he has stated many times, it's no secret. Warren also has very strong ambitions in the race. Our two leaders complement each other, and they can lean on each other in the race.
"We will start in the Tour with high ambitions with our two leaders while remaining humble because we know that the level of this race is always very high. No opponent or team will be taken lightly."
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