SAN FRANCESCO AL CAMPO – He wins the bunch sprint. He supports Pogacar and also sets a strong pace: Dorian Godon is becoming more and more amazing. The rider of Decathlon-AG2R The World Championship in this first part of the season he has been among the best ever.
Last year's Freccia del Barbante and the recent victories at Romandie, the last one in particular, were significant successes. If only for the way they arrived. Different from each other, Godon grabbed them with strength and cunning, skill and personality.
Born in 1996, 190 centimeters tall and weighing 73 kilos, great power, we talked about this athlete with the manager and sporting director, Vincent Lavenu, some are instead following his other boys to the Giro d'Italia.
Mr. Lavenu, did you expect such a major outburst from Godon?
For me it's not a real explosion. We know Dorian well, he's been with us for several years and we know he's a boy with exceptional physical potential. He is an athlete capable of producing very high-level sprints and, above all, of resisting sprints for a long time.
So what's changed? Why do we see him winning or placing well more consistently now?
I'd say a good feeling overall. Until then he had not found the key to positioning before sprints. Now, however, he's focused and well supported by his teammates, who are able to place him in the right spot. And when he's in the right place at the right time, Godon is capable of beating even the strongest riders.
He wins bunch sprints, but also competes in small groups with Pogacar, and wins the Giro del Veneto, which is no sprinter's race: so who is Dorian Godon? What kind of sprinter is he?
As mentioned, he's very strong physically. He also rides very well (as seen in the final stage of the Romandie, where he won by gaining at least 5-6 meters on everyone on the final corner in the wet, editor's note). What kind of sprinter is he? For me he's not a pure sprinter, he's a fast cyclist. He's good at climbing, at least the smaller sections, and he's capable of holding off groups of only 70 or 80 riders. However, I don't see him competing with the world's best sprinters in a compact group sprint.
Can you compare Godon to a fast rider or sprinter of the past? For example, is he more of a Sagan or a Demare? Just to understand how and where he fits in...
If that's the case, it's also very good in short time trials, those between 2 and 10 kilometers, So I don't really know who we can compare it to. I'd have to revisit the entire history of cycling! If I really had to make a comparison, I'd say it's more of a Caden Groves, who is not a pure sprinter, but is very fast and holds well.
In short, Godon is strong, fast, but he is not a pure sprinter despite his riding skills and his height…
Exactly, he's a huge rider, with unique physical characteristics. Yes, he's competed in bunch sprints a few times, but they still have to be sprints at the end of tough days. On challenging stages, when all the riders arrive a bit tired at the finish.
You mentioned earlier that there was a good general feeling. Does this include the bikes? Vendrame said a few days ago. He told us that they are very satisfied and that this helps to reduce tensions…
I'd say the entire team is working well. The bikes are certainly an added value and have their influence, but the other materials also matter. The aerodynamics are good now. Runners feel comfortable and confident in what they do and what they haveIt's a combination of things that have changed with the arrival of new sponsors like Decathlon, with new management, and a new internal way of interacting.
When you brought Godon into the team, what did you look for in him? And above all, did you follow him even as a young player, given that your team is very focused on young players?
Yes, I've been following him since he was young. I've also observed his results because Dorian lives not far from our headquarters. We're in Chambéry, he's in Lyon. I had already seen him among the amateurs. He turned pro at a fairly young age with Cofidis. But we saw that he had the speed and explosiveness I mentioned, which interested us.
Clear…
When the opportunity arose, we reached an agreement with him fairly quickly. Among other things, We were a bit like his favorite team, since we're all from the Rhône-Alpes region.
