Arnaud Démare (FDJ) has said that he will race more sparingly in 2018 in order to remain fresh for his major objectives in the spring Classics and the Tour de France.
Winner of Milan-San Remo in 2016, Démare claimed the French title and a stage of the Tour in 2017, but he was later eliminated from La Grande Boucle after finishing outside the time limit on stage 9.
The Frenchman will begin his season later than usual in 2018, and will eschew the Etoile des Bessèges, preferring instead to kick off his new campaign at the Volta ao Algarve, which takes place from February 14-18.
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"Watching the sprinters raise their arms in Australia has given me the desire [to race], but the objective is to reach the Classics with a lot of freshness," Démare said in an interview with the FDJ team website.
"These past seasons, and even though it’s been my objective, I’ve arrived in the period of Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix feeling a mental fatigue that I absolutely want to be rid of in 2018."
Like his stable-mate Thibaut Pinot, Démare will follow the recommendation of FDJ’s coaching staff and reduce his diet of racing days in the opening half of the season in a bid to maintain sharpness for July.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/arnaud-demare-chooses-lighter-racing-schedule-in-2018
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