Vídeo / TDF preview
Basque climber back to 'Grande Boucle' with high morale and fresh batteries, having come just 1" short to overall podium finish in 2017, last edition before signing with Movistar Team.
MIKEL LANDA PROFILE > Pre-TDF calendar, quotes, pictures
– Earliest souvenir from the race
“I got hooked on the Tour by watching Mayo, Zubeldia, Beloki and many others as they contested victory in the early 2000s, from 2003 and 2004 on. I remember watching those stages with my dad. During flat stages I got bored and asleep, but the mountain stages did get me in love with this sport.”
– Really getting to admire the Tour
“Last year I really understood the best things about the Tour. I enjoyed the 2017 race much, because it really gives you recognition, makes you become a household name. That’s something any sportsperson can appreciate.”
– First Tour de France appearance
“The thing that caught my attention most about the race is the massive crowds over the entire course – not only at certain points, rather than the whole route of a stage. That’s what got me the most impressed about this race.”
– Foix, 2017
“At the Pyrenees stages in the 2017 Tour I was riding very easily in the mountains and I enjoyed the racing much, it was beautiful for me. However, at the Foix stage I really understood what was at stake. Until then, I was only thinking about playing as a domestique. That day, I realized I could aim for something else, it really changed my mind.”
– Marseille ITT
“It gave me much confidence. Reaching the penultimate day of a Grand Tour and completing such a fine TT made me believe that, depending on the day, I can also time trial well.”
– 1″ off overall podium
“I didn’t look at it as if it was important in the hours after that result. I hadn’t really looked at myself as a potential TDF podium contender during that race, and didn’t feel disappointed about not getting that result. As time went by, I started thinking about it and I’d of course have loved to be there. It made me sad, but also made me realize I had to continue working hard in order to get there this year.”