Nairo Quintana: "The Tour of Luxembourg it's a first time for me"
Nairo Quintana will line up for the first time in his career at the start of the Tour of Luxembourg.
Pre-race
“I will race the Tour of Luxembourg for the first time in my career. This race is a bit special for my characteristics because if the difficulties are repeated on the road stages they are quite short in terms of distance and require power. But I have seen on the three races I have done last week – Besançon, Jura and Doubs – that I have a good level and that this kind of course could also suit me. We will have a good Arkéa-Samsic team for this race and we will have the means to race every day among the first positions of the peloton and to try to make the selection in order to get good places at the finishes. The time-trial scheduled on the fourth day, the day before the finish in Luxembourg, will also be decisive for the overall classification”.
“I know the Tour du Luxembourg from having taken part in it, with a prologue in the middle of the week to launch the event. It was in the city centre, and the stages to follow were hilly without being too hard. This year, on the other hand, there is no more prologue but more difficult stages and a long individual time trial. The priority for the team will be given to Nairo so that he can achieve a good final general classification, and as far as I am concerned, we will see how it goes for me during the week. But the main objective is to achieve a good general classification and if there are opportunities to do so, we will see when the time comes”.
Briefing
“A dynamic has been reinstalled in the Arkéa-Samsic team this summer – the same one that took shape at the beginning of the 2021 season – and our desire is to continue to make it last over the last few months of the season but also in the future. Motivated, concentrated and determined will be the main lines of the team’s work in the 2021 Tour of Luxembourg, an event belonging to the Pro Series calendar. Nairo Quintana made a good comeback last week in Eastern France, scoring two top 4 and one top 6. He showed himself to be at his best in races more for puncheurs than for climbers, but what I want to remember most of all is his attacking spirit. He has to continue in this way because it is the way to success. The Arkéa-Samsic team still has a great end of season programme ahead of it and we will do everything to honour the races and the organisers who will welcome us until mid-October. We are in a quest for UCI points in order to get the best possible ranking in our category, but the best way to score the most points is still to win races.