Welcome again Le Tour!
For the second year in a row, the B&B HOTELS p/b KTM will participate in the Tour de France. In Brest, on June 26th, the Men in Glaz will play at home and welcome the greatest race in the world. Allowed to invite 23 teams this year, the organizer ASO invited three French teams, including the one based in Morbihan, Brittany. Bryan Coquard, Pierre Rolland and their teammates will aim high on their ground.
B&B HOTELS p/b KTM General Manager Jérôme Pineau welcomed the wild card warmly. "Le Tour starting from Brittany will be something amazing and a great opportunity for our team. The Tour is a tremendous accelerator, essential to continue our development on a sport and economic level."
From June 26th to July 18th, the B&B HOTELS p/b KTM will aim high on a more classic route than last year. During the previous edition, the Men in Glaz collected twelve top-10 finishes, with Pierre Rolland taking the 2nd place in Sarran and Bryan Coquard finishing 3rd in Lavaur. "This would be my fifth Tour de France start and I'm still dreaming of winning a stage there", Coquard says. "Now I know better how to prepare the race and how important it is to enjoy every moment on the Tour, taking advantage of every opportunity."
Pierre Rolland, who claimed two Tour de France victories, wants to throw his arms up again. "Last year, we lived a unique experience with a group discovering the Tour and riders showing a great fighting spirit during three weeks. We only missed a victory but I had great fun attacking as much as I wanted. The closer we get to the Grand Départ, the more we will know about which goals to target."
Until then, the Men in Glaz will race as much as the sanitary conditions will allow them to compete, looking for success.
Recap Tour de france 2020
A historic event is now in the books. KTM's first participation in the Tour de France. The Grand Tour participation is equivalent to entry into the top league of cycling. By sponsoring the team "B&B Hotels Vitalconcept powered by KTM", they bet on exactly the right horse: a French team with a mix of young and experienced riders, always hungry for success and attention. In the Corona year, the Tour was uncertain for a long time, the preparation for the riders all the more difficult. As soon as it was decided that the Tour would take place, the tension within the teams grew immeasurably. From the beginning it was clear that this Tour would be more hectic than ever before. Finally, on 29 August, the starting signal was given for the 107th edition of the Tour de France and the very first event after kilometre zero was marked by KTM.
Cyril Gautier (B&B Vitalconcept b/p KTM) attacks and makes it into the first breakaway group of the Tour. As a result, the first television hours in the leading group for KTM. At least equally impressive, eighth place for Bryan Coquard in the final sprint on a first stage marked by crashes. On stage two it is climber Pierre Roland who stays in the field of favourites until the end. Good omens for the remaining days. Both Rolland on the mountain and Coquard in the sprint are in top form. Stage three again successful: Position ten for Coquard - only a few metres short of victory.
Stage four: "B&B" still present, aggressive and eager to attack: Quentin Pacher rides in the leading group for 150 kilometres. After Pacher is caught by the peloton, Pierre Rolland tries his luck in the first difficult climbs at the front. Just before the end, he reaches the finish line only 57 seconds behind the winner Roglic. On stage five, the third top ten place in the sprint follows for Coquard. The further it goes into the mountains, the better climber Rolland shows himself. Nevertheless, it is Coquard who, with third place on the seventh stage in Lavaur, is only lacking a "bit of luck". Stage eight leads the riders into the Pyrenees. Kevin Reza and Quentin Pacher dominate the action in the breakaway group. The first Tour de France mountain classification victory for Pacher and the B&B Vitalconcept p/b KTM team followed.
After the rest day, Coquard rides into the top 10 for the fifth and sixth time. On the 12th stage, "B&B" is on the offensive.
Inspired by the excellent team performance, "B&B" really goes on the offensive on stage 12. Again, only a touch is missing to win the stage. Pierre Rolland in second place, Quentin Pacher in fourth.
The reward for the exertions finally came on stage 15. Rolland dominated the action in a two-man lead, attacked alone on the final climb, was caught just before the finish - but won the classification for the most active rider and finally stood on the podium with the red number on his back.
Meanwhile, the remaining team colleagues sacrifice themselves in the high mountains to somehow get sprinter Coquard over the mountains. First loss: noble helper Jens Debusschere has to finish the race after mobilising his last strength to keep Coquard within the time limit.
Arriving in Paris, all that remains is to say: Chapeau to this performance. A magnificent performance as a UCI Pro Team, in the midst of the World Tour teams on the top stage of cycling.