Cycling’s oft-proclaimed best young talent Edvald Boasson Hagen has said that he is pleased with his form heading into his debut Tour de France, and will target at least one stage victory in the event.
The 23 year old heads to the race after taking a stirring stage victory in the Criterium du Dauphiné, breaking away alone on the circuit for the 1980 world championships. “That stage win at the Dauphiné was really nice to get, but I feel my condition could have been better,” he said. “Before that race I had not done much training, but this time I have and I definitely feel stronger now than I did then. If I can improve even further in the next three weeks then hopefully I can have some success.”
Some see him as a possible contender for the green jersey but he doesn’t list that as his primary target. It’ll be in the back of his mind, though, if he does take early success. He’s a fast rider but also someone who is good on tougher terrain, much like his compatriot Thor Hushovd.
"I would like to get at least one stage victory, but there are no stages which I will be targeting in particular,” he said, when asked about his main motivations. “I'm just going to take things day by day. Obviously the main goal is to help Bradley [Wiggins] achieve a podium position, and if he does, that will be great."
Boasson Hagen will begin his time trial effort tomorrow at 16.33 local time, and could experience different climatic conditions than the later riders. But whatever about the wind or rain, he has the potential to be one of the quickest. Last week he took his fourth national TT title and clearly has the goods against the clock.
That victory showed he’s in good condition, and will also be a motivation for him in another way. "It's always an honour to put on the national jersey,” he said. “I will certainly be trying my hardest to get off to a good start. I'd like to post a good time but there are a lot of other strong guys there…we will see how it goes."
Another contender for the stage win is his team-mate Bradley Wiggins, who nabbed the leader’s Maglia Rosa on day one of the Giro d’Italia. The Briton finished fourth overall in the race last year and is aiming for a podium spot in Paris. One year on, he will soon discover if he can indeed build on what he did in July 2009.
"Bradley is a lot more prepared this year than he was last time around so hopefully we can all do a good job and get him some success,” he said. “I will try to help him out as much as I can, especially on the flats as I think it will be hard for me to stay with him in the high mountains."
Further down the line, some see Boasson Hagen as a rider who could himself fight for the general classification. He’s a large rider, but so too were Miguel Indurain and Eddy Merckx. Depending on how he develops, and how lean he can become, he considers it a possibility.
For now, though, he’s going to focus on other targets.
“Maybe that is something I could have a go at in the years to come it, but that's still a long time away. I'm not stressing about things like that right now. Again, I prefer to take things year-by-year, day-by-day.
"This is my first time at the Tour and I am going to be using it to gain some experience and see what it is like to ride. I am really relaxed about everything and am just trying to think of it as a normal race. Hopefully though, we will be able to achieve some success for the team."