Fabio Jakobsen: I hope Mark Cavendish has a good Tour de France

Soudal-Quick Step leaders Fabio Jakobsen and Julian Alaphilippe have made their ambitions clear for the Tour de France ahead of the Grand Départ in Bilbao.

Former world champion Alaphilippe returns to the race for the first time in two years and has his sights set on winning the opening stage, whilst Jakobsen has admitted that a pursuit of the green jersey may be out of his reach as he prepares to face old teammate, Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan).

Speaking on the eve of the race, Jakobsen conceded that his ambition is “to win a stage or [multiple] stages,” rather than battling with the likes of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) for the green jersey.

“I think they will race each other for the green jersey and I do not think I have the level to compete with that,” the 26-year-old told the media.

It was not a surprising admission given Jakobsen’s reputation as a pure sprinter, whose only target away from winning bunch sprints is to make it to Paris without finding himself outside of the time limit on the Tour’s mountainous stages. Asked whether he had undertaken any special training given this edition’s notoriously tough route and his close shave with the time cut on stage 17 last year, the European champion was adamant that his preparation remained the same as ever.

“The Tour is not supposed to be easy, that is why it is the Tour de France. I know I will suffer in the mountains again, [but] that is the other side of being a sprinter.”

Though Jakobsen’s teammate Alaphilippe admitted that he thinks this year’s race “is one of the hardest” he has ever lined up for.

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Fabio Jakobsen rallied to finish within seconds of the time limit on stage 17 of last year’s Tour de France

Offering a glimpse into his ambition in the general classification - or lack thereof - the Frenchman commented: “I think with a start like this in the Basque Country, for the GC guys it is more difficult because they cannot lose time here. They have to be ready from day one until Paris… It's not really my problem to manage my shape for three weeks. My goal is to arrive here [in Bilbao] ready and I will try to win a stage.”

For those fans desperate to see Alaphilippe become the first Frenchman to win the yellow jersey since Bernard Hinault in 1985, disappointment may await. But the 31-year-old is confident of his chances over the first two stages, where the first yellow jersey of this year’s Tour will be up for grabs.

Having ridden two recons of the start in Bilbao - once this week and previously before their latest training camp - Alaphilippe was wary of giving away any secrets he may have gleaned from the Basque roads.

“Maybe the [only] advice I can say is, we have to tighten the shoes well because the climbs will be steep,” joked Alaphilippe.

“The goal is always to win a stage. Of course if I can have the yellow jersey on the first few days, it is a dream.”

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Julian Alaphiilippe: “To win a stage in the [Critérium du] Dauphiné makes me happy and more confident for what is coming"

Winning a stage will be the quest of Soudal-Quick Step this July, but sports director Tom Steels was wary of anybody hastening to write off Mark Cavendish’s chances of beating Jakobsen in a sprint.

“Is he the Cavendish of ten years ago?” pondered Steels. “He probably isn’t. But is he still capable of winning a stage? He is.”

Riding for Steels’ team last year, Cavendish was left at home in favour of Jakobsen, despite needing only one more win to surpass the record of 34 Tour stage victories he shares with Eddy Merckx. Now riding for Astana-Qazaqstan, Cavendish will be challenging Jakobsen in the sprint finishes over the next few weeks. For the Dutchman, the opportunity to compete against his former teammate is one he relishes.

“I hope Mark has a good Tour de France. I think he has shown in Rome [in the Giro d’Italia] that he still has it, so it will be nice for the people and spectators to watch to hopefully see him get the result he wants - which is obviously a stage win!”

The Tour de France begins in the Basque Country on Saturday 1 July, with each stage live and ad-free on GCN+ (territory restrictions apply). A region “famous for supporting cycling,” as per Jakobsen, it promises one of the most exciting grand départs in years to kick off the 110th Tour de France. Make sure not to miss it.