Just the day before yesterday it started Future Tower. All, or almost all, of the strongest players on the international under 23 scene will be taking part. Among them, Leo Hayter (Instagram photo opening – Gary Main), the formidable English boy we met on the streets of Giro d'Italia U23.
The Giro was a great victory for Leo. All things considered, he only risked one day, and not on a climb, at that. The thrill for him and his team Hagen Bermans Axeon there was towards Peveragno when the Groupama-Fdj He set an ambush for him. Otherwise, the pink jersey has always been firmly his.
Now at Avenir he has the opportunity to repeat himself, But perhaps things will be more complicated for him. In fact, if he could have been a "surprise" at the start of the Giro, he will be very marked in France. However, it can succeed in what it also does. Ayuso o Tobias Johannessen, who however came very close, and other illustrious predecessors failed: to do the double.
For now, after the first two stages, he is there, together with all the favourites.
Leo, how did you get to this Tour de l'Avenir? Did your preparation go as you hoped?
All right. After my summer break I went to Andorra with Ineos-Grenadiers (his next team, ed.) to prepare for The Avenir. The Tour d'Alsace was also part of my preparation, and I struggled a bit there, but I think it was just a bit of fatigue from all the work I'd done. I still had a few weeks to recover before this race, so I'm confident I can be in good shape.
So it was planned that I wouldn't do the Aosta Valley?
Yup, I actually decided quite early on that I wouldn't take part in the Valle d'Aosta. I was coming off a busy period with the lockdown in Italy and following the national championships. So I took a short summer break.
Giro U23 and Tour d'Avenir: are you thinking about this double? Does it put pressure on you or does it give you adrenaline?
No, to tell the truth. I didn't think about it at all! Unlike the Santa Caterina stage of the Giro, there are fewer stages that really suit my characteristics here in France. At the beginning, I won't be able to fight for stage victories (like it happened in Pinzolo, ed.), so we'll see how my climbing form is in the last few days. It's a shame there's no individual time trial!
That's right, you're also the national time trial champion! How much has Leo changed as a rider since winning the U23 Giro?
No, no: I haven't changed! I continued training and cycling as I always have. I didn't change my style of running. But that victory gave me a good opportunity to improve my physical shape before this Avenir. Maybe next year I'll try to become more of a climbing specialist. If I lose weight, I will obviously become more of a climber, but I also imagine that my engine and my time trial abilities might decrease because of this. At the moment I'm happy with how I am and I feel like I can win a race in many different ways.
You also trained with Ineos Grenadiers: do you think that gave you something extra? Did you work on the climb?
It's easier to train well when everything is ready for you in a training camp. I haven't spent any more time on climbing. I think I'm a complete cyclist. at the moment, which is both a positive and a negative.
Did you also work on the time trial?
No, actually, I haven't! At least not recently. But I've always ridden my time trial bike and I'm used to staying in position. I'll focus more on this specialty after the Avenir, since My next goal will be the time trial at the World Championships in Australia.
What kind of match do you expect at Avenir?
I haven't looked too closely at the mountain stages yet, so it's better to take them day by day here. For me, there's no need to worry too much about the ending or look too far ahead, when you can lose the general classification already at the beginning, perhaps in a messy sprint at the start in the first stages.
And who are the favorites?
I think they are the obvious names that we all expect starting from the two guys who climbed on the podium with me at the Giro (Lennert Van Eetvelt e lenny martinez, ed.). Then there is Cian Uijtdebroeks as well as the Danes and Norwegians, who are already racing at a professional level.
Have you done any reconnaissance for this Avenir?
No, we didn't do any, but I would have liked to do some. We can still make the most of tools like VeloViewer, with which we can see the routes in detail every day.
