A new wolf in the Soudal-Quick Step pack is mountain goat Mikel Landa. The 34-year-old Basque must become a key player in Remco Evenepoel’s rise. “In the Tour I want to support Remco until the end in the mountain stages”, Landa defines the role of his servant.
Strengthening the mountaineering brigade was one of the conditions to keep Remco Evenepoel happy inside Soudal-Quick Step.
Laurens De Plus and Pavel Sivakov seemed obvious names, but in the end Patrick Lefevere surprised by luring Mikel Landa to the Wolfpack.
“Even though after the first phone call I wasn’t convinced,” admits Landa. “After the second phone call, I was.”
“Remco said he admired me and really appreciated my experience. I was offered a role which motivated me to come to this team.”
First of all I race for Remco, in the other races I can take my chances.
Mikel Landa
What will Landa’s dual role be like? “First of all I will help the team as much as possible. Sometimes this will be in service of Remco, sometimes in service of someone else.”
“Also, in some races I can race on my own. At the Vuelta, for example, I will have the opportunity to make a good classification.”
Landa has already reached the final podium twice in the grand tours, each time in the 3rd stage of the Giro.
“But I still dream of winning a Grand Tour. This is becoming more and more difficult for me, as the years pass and new rivals emerge.”
“But in recent years I have come close to the final podium. So why should the final victory no longer be possible?”
Keep Evenepoel with Pogacar and Vingegaard
In the Tour, Landa wants to support Evenepoel in the best way possible.
“I want to support Remco until the end of the mountain stages. This is my job as a mountaineer.”
“Will Remco be able to win the Tour? I don’t think it’s impossible. But we won’t put pressure on him yet.”
“Remco is racing the Tour for the first time. There are rivals (Pogacar and Vingegaard) who have won the Tour twice each. We will try to stay as close to them as possible and see where this takes us.”
Will the Tour team around Evenepoel be strong enough? “Maybe not as strong as Visma-Lease a Bike or UAE Team Emirates,” admits Landa.
“But Soudal-Quick Step has already won an important tour with the Vuelta. And the team has strengthened further.”
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2024-01-15 07:55:00
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