Michel Ries : "the aim is to get a good performance"
Formerly known as the Grand Prix of Cologne, Rund Um Köln is a race that can be good for the sprinters, but can also give rise to movement and crown the attackers. What will be the scenario in 2022?
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“The route is marked out by bumps, which can create several scenarios for the victory because the course of this race, which is however rather open, can also offer possibilities for a sprint victory. There will be quite a few more sprinters at the start, so it remains to be seen on the day. There could be a lot of movement in this race. We did a training camp at altitude in Sierra Nevada and I feel good after that. Now the question is how I will assimilate it because the race comes quite early, so we will have to see how I feel this weekend, but it’s good to race on the heels of this big block of work done in Andalusia. We will have a good team at the start in Germany and the aim will be to put in a good performance”.
“Cologne is a hilly road race with a total of 2500 metres of elevation gain, good climbs that can break the peloton. Hugo will be supported by Matîs in case of an animated race, they will be part of our assets with other riders in case of a different scenario than a sprint finish. In any case, we will exploit all the racing opportunities that may come our way as the kilometres go by, we have the manpower to deal with different situations.”