Monday, January 11, 2021
"Not made for me"
Buchmann's amazing bow about the tour
Emanuel Buchmann is the personified hope of local cycling fans for the first German Tour de France victory since 1997. But in 2021 the dream will not come true, at least not through Buchmann. Surprisingly, he will not be part of the world's most important cycling race this year.
On Lake Garda, which is wonderfully sunny even in January, Emanuel Buchmann can warm up for his annual highlight 2021. Instead of being able to start the next attack on the coveted yellow jersey at the Tour de France, Buchmann is planning to be the captain of his Bora-hansgrohe racing team for the Giro d'Italia this year. At his premiere on the three-week tour of Italy, Buchmann not only wants to ride, but also fight for great success again after a difficult Corona year 2020.
"Basically a podium place is the first goal. Of course that won't be much easier at the Giro," announced Buchmann. The amazing cycling castling of those responsible for Bora around team boss Ralph Denk and the sporting director Enrico Poitschke comes as a surprise. With his fourth place overall in 2019, Buchmann not only awakened dreams of the first German Tour triumph since Jan Ullrich, but also impressively demonstrated how well the Tour of France suits him with its characteristics in midsummer.
As a captain to the Giro
"Emanuel finished fourth in the Tour de France. Wilco Kelderman has not yet made it. That is why he is given the sole captain role in the Giro," said Denk, explaining the decision. The Dutch newcomer Kelderman, who has already ridden strongly in the Giro (third and seventh overall) and Vuelta (fourth, seventh, tenth), should instead lead Bora-hansgrohe's squad in France.
"Wilco has proven that he can time trial. Time trial is always a key factor," said Denk. In the 2021 tour, the fight against the clock is on the program twice, which is not one of Buchmann's great strengths. The Giro stage plan, however, has not yet been published.
The 28-year-old Buchmann has to take a detour on his route to his great career goal of "overall podium on the tour". "The plan is for me to concentrate on the Giro. With the tour route we decided that the tour wasn't really made for me," said Buchmann, speaking soberly as usual. His tour goal remains in place, he can only actively pursue it again in 2022 at the earliest.
"Doesn't make sense to start on the tour"
The question of who will take on the role of captain on the tour is traditionally associated with a lot of prestige within the team. Because of the high advertising value and the gigantic TV presence, the tour with the destination in Paris is considered the most important race in the world. The fact that lightweight Buchmann will not get this chance in 2021, although he was able to compete with the best in the world in the Alps and Pyrenees, is definitely a setback. "We approached Emanuel. He sees it as we do that it doesn't make sense to start on the tour this year," said Sport Director Poitschke.
In defending champion Tadej Pogacar, the 2019 winner Egan Bernal and ex-ski jumper Primoz Roglic there are plenty of opponents who are also aiming for overall victory in France. But Buchmann also showed extreme tempo in the high mountains at the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2020, until he had to get out early after a fall. The back pain plagued him so much on the following tour that he didn't come out on rank 38 in the overall ranking. The time was "not so easy" and "not so nice", Buchmann reported in a media round from the training camp on Lake Garda. In the meantime he is pain-free again and can easily train for the new cycling year.
. (tagsToTranslate) Sport (t) Cycling (t) Tour de France