Geoffroy Lequatre Interview

20.05.2009

Eight months on from his victory in The Tour of Britain, Agritubel's Geoffroy Lequatre was back in London for the launch of the 2009 Tour in Covent Garden.

London of course was the scene of the Grand Depart of the 2008 race that saw Lequatre and 95 other top professionals battle it out over eight tough stages.

Ultimately the Frenchman came out on top, and so he was back in London for the presentation of this year's Tour of Britain, at which he hopes to become the first rider to successfully defend his yellow jersey.

After the presentation of the 2009 route, Peter Hodges sat down with Geoffroy Lequatre in the surroundings of the restaurant at the London Transport Museum to find out his thoughts on the race.

Firstly Geoffroy, how is the season going so far?

The first part of the season was not too bad for me, I had a good three months but then I crashed in Paris – Nice, so now I am not in quite so good shape because of the accident.

I have had two weeks rest, so now we attack the next part of the season with the preparation for the Tour de France.

My next race is the Tour de Picardy (in which teammate and 2007 Tour of Britain winner Romain Feillu finished 2nd overall), then the Tour of Bavaria and then a training camp in the mountains. My next objective before the Tour de France will be the French national championships. I want to be in my best condition for the Tour, but for sure the French championships are a big objective for me.

How has your trip to London been?

Perfect! I have time so when Lisa invited me then why not? It is a good idea to come for the presentation. I liked last year's race and I won, so I wanted to be here today for the presentation of the 2009 Tour.

What affect has winning The Tour of Britain had on your career?

It's the best win in my career so far for sure. I was not lucky before as I had a lot of crashes and bad moments. What I say is that last year was the beginning of a new career for me with this victory.

I hope in the future I can do this kind of victory in the shorter, one-week Tours, but not the big Tours, as I'm a realist!

What I say is that I have no chance when there is a time trial, because it is my worst point. When I see the route for The Tour of Britain though I think it could be good for me another time.

There are just six riders in a team, so it is not easy to control the race. I like this kind of racing, but for sure before I won last year I never realised I can win this type of race, maybe one stage, but not the overall. Now though it is possible.

Do you have a favourite moment from last year's race?

I think the third stage (from Chard to Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset) where I built my victory, because in my head I say, “Ok, I am ready now, I attack and maybe I'll do 140km on the front and we'll see”. For sure I was a little bit sad because I can't win the stage, but it was a victory for the team.

And of course also the last moment when I crossed the line in Liverpool was a good moment!

And finally, are you looking forward to this year's Tour of Britain?

Yes definitely. I don't know the detailed route yet, but it has a very similar look to last year's race. It's not really hilly, but the climbs are steep rather than very long which is still hard. Again there is no time trial, so it is open for everyone, which is a good thing.

For the full interview with Geoffroy looking back on his 2008 victory, look out for the Official Race Programme for The Tour of Britain, available in September.