Those present during the previous edition of the Tour de l’Avenir sensed a new dynamism surging through the pack of riders.
The habitual enthusiasm that animates the most prized event on the espoirs calendar was fuelled by a form of excitement associated with the format adopted in 2007. By inviting national teams to participate, we have succeeded in injecting more verve and spirit into the race. Already accustomed to defending their team jersey, the trainee champions were able to taste the sensations procured by the national jersey. The vigour and vitality of the attackers, the leaders and their team mates, made it clear to us that the values of cycling had here acquired new meaning.
Convinced that ambitions will be just as fierce this year, we have put together a programme to satisfy the aspirations of cycling’s espoirs. At the start in Chalette-sur-Loing, there will be many contenders eager to succeed Bauke Mollema and to add their name to the Tour de l’Avenir list of prize-winners. To achieve this, they will need to display as much temperament and consistency as the young Dutch rider, who has since managed to equal the performances of top elite climbers, on several occasions. The riders will move from the steep routes of the Morvan to a selection of mountain passes in the Pyrenees, and the scarcely less demanding plateaux of the Cantal: it is evidently on the sharpest climbs that efforts will prove decisive. The sustained difficulties will silence the most vociferous, and reward the most resilient.
Christian PRUDHOMME
Director of the Tour de France