Wanty-Groupe Gobert and an overall 14-rider group equipped with Extreme RR shoes will take part in Grande Boucle’s 2018 edition (July 7th-29th): the European Champion aims for yellow in the opening stage
The 105th Tour de France, the greatest stage race in World cycling, will start in Noirmoutier-en-l’Île, in Vandee, on Saturday July 7th. 21 stages, 3351 kilometers, 53 categorized climbs are the figures of Grande Boucle’s 2018 edition until the traditional iconic finish in Paris-Champs-Élysées, on Sunday July 29th.
Northwave will count on Wanty-Groupe Gobert team, facing the Tour for the second time in a row, and an overall 14-rider group equipped with Extreme RR shoes, Northwave’s top-range road shoes characterized by the XFrame® patented technology, that eliminates the points of pressure of the upper on the foot.
KRISTOFF DREAMS THE FIRST YELLOW JERSEY
The sprinters will likely have the chance to grab the first Tour de France’s yellow jersey on Fontenay-le-Comte’s finish and one Northwave rider, UAE Team Emirates’ Alexander Kristoff, will try to claim the greatest joy of this season, characterized by four wins so far.
Tour de France’s opening stage is not the only opportunity for the European Champion: indeed, the race’s route features eight sprinters’ finishes and the cobbles stage in Roubaix that fits to the 30-year-old Norwegian rider. Along Kristoff, Northwave will support two more UAE Team Emirates athletes in the mix, Marco Marcato and Oliviero Troia.
WANTY: MARTIN AND THE ROULEURS TO TAKE STAGE WIN
Wanty-Groupe Gobert’s roster is made by many rouleurs suited to the cobbles races, but in 2018 Tour de France the Belgian squad will also line-up one of the most promising French climbers, Guillaume Martin. The 25-year-old born in Paris will try to take a stage win on Alps or Pyrenees, whilst New Zealand’s Dion Smith, Italy’s Andrea Pasqualon and Belgium’s Timothy Dupont and Guillaume Van Keirsbulck will aim to stand out in the stages suited to fat wheels and puncheurs. Dutchman Marco Minnaard, Belgian Thomas Degand and Frenchman Yoann Offredo round out the line-up of the Belgian team equipped by Northwave with Extreme RR shoes and Extreme Air socks.
Further Northwave riders to tackle 2018 Tour de France are Frenchman Elie Gesbert (Team Fortuneo-Samsic), Aussie Jack Bauer (Mitchelton-SCOTT) and the key setup man of Richie Porte in the mountain stages, Italian Damiano Caruso (BMC Racing).
Onigo di Pederobba (Italy), July 5th, 2018
