24 year old showing signs that he could be a Grand Tour overall contender for the future
24 year old Jerome Coppel is one of France's biggest young talents heading into the second decade of the 21st century. The young rider, born in Annemasse in France's Haute-Savoie region, enjoyed a breakout season in 2010 and firmly etched his name for years to come in the select list of young riders to watch.
Yet, Coppel's name isn't one that comes up all that much when there's talk of the next generation. His results from last season tell otherwise though.
The former U23 World Championships time trial bronze medalist started his 2010 season with a notable 9th overall at Paris-Nice - a performance he hoped to better this season. Unfortunately for Coppel, he will not have a chance to better his result from last year, as his Saur-Sojasun team did not gain Wild Card entry to the Race to the Sun. It's a minor setback, admits Coppel, but there's still plenty of racing to get the season going with.
"I'm going to fall back on the Ruta del Sol where the level will be high," said Coppel to L'Equipe. "My first peak was expected to be at Paris-Nice, but I'll now wait to time my first peak until late April and early May for the Criterium International, and then peak again in July."
Coppel will get his first shot at his country and cycling's biggest race in July. When the Wild Card invitations for the Tour de France were announced earlier this week, there was at least some surprise at the selection of the Saur-Sojasun team, but a lot of that can be based off of not only Jimmy Casper's potential in the bunch sprints, but also the curiosity as to just how well Coppel might go in his first Tour de France.
There's little questioning that Coppel's progression and excellent 2010 season were extremely intriguing to the Amaury Sports Organization. Dare it be said aloud? Could Coppel be the long awaited young French Grand Tour talent in quite a few years? The label has been a curse for many so far, but if Coppel continues on this same trajectory, the hope seems well founded.
Coppel isn't getting too far ahead of himself though. He knows that he still lacks the experience of a Grand Tour, and that's something that he expects will change him as a rider.
"When you finish a Grand Tour, you gain strength, and that's something that I'm still lacking at the moment, even with my full season last year. I hope that I can do a good race, see how far I can go, and end it in good condition."
The two-time French U23 Time Trial champion recognizes that he has done a lot to continue bettering himself both on and off the bike, but knows that there is still a lot to come with years of training and racing ahead of him.
"I have improved physically and mentally. I know my body better. I'm only 24 years old, and I'm beginning my fourth year in the pros. I know that in cycling, maturity comes later. I still have three years to make a lot of progress. At 27 or 28 years old, I think I will be able to do great things and then be able to set clearer goals."
When pressed on what exactly the great things he speaks of might be. Coppel replies: "Why not a top five in a Grand Tour at some point? I do not know yet. I think I can do top ten, I'm not sure if I can do better."
The Saur-Sojasun captain knows that he has a lot of work to do to get to that point though. Coppel focused a lot on his climbing abilities over the past year to great success, but in turn, that success led to a gradual weakening in the discipline that defined his younger years - the time trial. In the future, he hopes to continue to improve in the mountains, but also return his time trialing to the level that saw him as one of the world's best young riders in the discipline.
"When I turned pro, I was described as a rouleur. I worked a lot in the mountains though, and it really paid off last year. Before, I gained time in stage races in the time trial, and I lost it in the mountains - now it has reversed. I will continue to focus my preparation in the mountains without neglecting the time trial though."
Along with his top ten overall finish at Paris-Nice, Coppel's season also included a stage and the overall at the Rhone-Alpes Isere Tour, 5th overall at the Criterium du Dauphine (including 4th on Alpe d'Huez). Coppel had a quiet July while his Saur-Sojasun team watched the Tour de France from the comfort of their living rooms, but he resumed his impressive season with 6th overall at the Tour de l'Ain, victory at the 1.1 Tour du Doubs, and another overall success at the Tour du Gevaudan-Languedoc-Roussillon, including a stage victory on the same climb in Mende that featured in this year's Tour de France, the Montee Laurent Jalabert.
Up until the end of September, Coppel's success had been more or less limited to France save for a 3rd at the 1.1 ranked GP Llodio and another 1.1, the Vuelta a la Rioja, both in Spain. In October, however, the budding star took 7th at the unquestionably difficult Giro dell'Emilia and 10th the next day at the GP Beghelli.