Les Herbiers, France – Takeaways from Friday’s Trek-Segafredo press conference ahead of the Tour de France with Bauke Mollema (stage winner at the Tour de France 2017), John Degenkolb and Jasper Stuyven.
On the New Madone
Jasper Stuyven: “I think the biggest difference with the previous Madone, is that it has disc brakes now. Thanks to the feedback of the riders the handlebar has been adjusted as well, it is more comfortable now and it fits better to the hands. You might think that the discs would make it a little slower, but that’s not the case, it’s actually as fast as the one with rim brakes, so a very fast bike indeed. Another new feature is the IsoSpeed, which we know from the Domane. Of course, on normal roads we can just leave it at the stiffest setting, but on rough roads it can be really useful to have more compliance, and this is something we do feel. It’s nice to be on an aero bike but still have that comfort. We have been able to test the bike a lot and give our feedback and we are all pretty happy about the end result.”
On the disc brakes
Bauke Mollema: “It might take a few seconds more to change a wheel, but I really think it’s worth it. I am already on discs for the whole season, on the Émonda, the climbing bike, and I will be also riding the new Madone in the first week of the Tour de France. For me the better braking makes a big difference. On the descents, I just feel safer and also in the rain, especially in the corners. If you have a flat tire, maybe a few times a year it will cost you a few more seconds, but for me the advantage of the disc brakes really makes up for that.”
On Tour de France ambitions
John Degenkolb: “My condition right now is really good, I think. I had a very good time after Switzerland, doing some very hard training in Austria, which was very beautiful. I had the chance to do a lot of climbs there and that will pay off for sure. The weekend of the nationals was also good to me. It was not a super hard race, but in the end, it was a chaotic and tough sprint, just like the sprints will be here, at the Tour de France. I made a good second place there, so I go into the Tour with a lot of confidence.
“We come here with a very homogeneous team, that makes us stronger as a unit. We have very good riders on this team and I have full trust that we can make a great result with Bauke in Paris. We will have to work together as a team and in the end, we will be there.
“At the Tour you cannot choose your stages, you have to look at it day by day. We are going to give the full 100% every day and I think that’s the most important. That’s the way we have to go into this Tour: to try every day to perform at that 100% and we will see how we end up. For us the dream scenario would be that we can win one or maybe even two or three stages and bring Bauke in a good GC position to Paris, that’s the big goal for the next three weeks.”
Bauke Mollema: “It was nice to win a stage last year, that’s for sure and I really enjoyed that, but I am happy to be back here to chase the GC. That still is my ultimate goal.
“The recon of the TTT we did yesterday went very well. We did two laps and will do another recon Monday morning. It was good to train on it, that’s for sure. Also, before the Tour de Suisse we were together with the team for a few days to train specifically on the TTT. The race itself didn’t really bring what we were hoping for, but still we learned some lessons there and it was good to work on it together there. This course suits us a little better than the course we had in the Tour de Suisse. For sure, we are not one of the favorites for the TTT, but I am convinced and confident that with the team that we have here, we can do a really good TTT.”
