DAN MARTIN ISRAEL START-UP NATION
This year’s Tour de France promises to be even more hotly contested as the WorldTour peloton have been like a bunch of caged animals for months, and sponsors heap on pressure for the exposure that has been missing so far this year. Despite the lack of racing and outdoor training, everybody has had months to get into peak fitness. I do however think that the lack of racing could lead to some interesting outcomes in the final week, but we also need to remember that every team is incredibly professional in its scientific approach to coaching, so I’m not expecting any big surprises.
One thing that has been broken is the schedule and routine we are all accustomed to. The body follows a certain biorhythm. Some riders always have good condition in the spring, others in July. It’s not only about training but for some, form just comes more easily at different times of the year. There is also security in following a very similar training plan. My race schedule has been basically the same for the past five seasons, meaning I know when to train hard and what to do.
The disruption caused by covid-19 has thrown this out of the window. I quickly developed a very good relationship with my coach at Israel Start-Up Nation and followed his guidance to the letter these past months, trusting his judgement. One thing is sure, when the races restart, there will be a higher intensity than normal, and how long you can sustain that is a balancing act between physical fitness and mental freshness. The same goes for the Tour every year but now it applies to the whole season.
As of right now, we are still unsure of the conditions that we will be racing the Tour under. For me, those scorching hot mountain stages, packed with fans, define the Tour and it is probable that spectators will be limited. September weather is a bit of an unknown for me but I am sure it will not be as hot as the height of summer and that could have an impact on results, especially hitting the mountains. I remember in 2017 we climbed the Mur de Péguère in the Pyrenees, the road being so narrow that fans were banned. There was an eerie silence at this crucial point. I’m not sure of the practicalities of stopping roadside spectators for the whole route, but personally it is something I ignore during the race to a certain extent. But to see completely empty streets would be strange.
At this point though we all just want to race our bikes, and fingers crossed the situation continues to improve so that we can return to some kind of normality and put on a show around France this autumn, safely.